For those that haven't read the prequels and don't have the time or patience to go and read them (they are quite long) here is a quick recap of the story so far, and a prologue taken from the final chapter of Get Them (Quickly).

Jonathon started his journey with his Squirtle rather reluctantly in his small hometown of Isamine City in the Quistis Region of Australia (based on Australia's Northern state of Queensland) where he was tricked into partnering in a Gym Battle with Pokemon School Heartthrob Nick and his partner Totodile. Before long the two were on a journey together, challenging the eight Gyms of Quistis for their badges to qualify for a place in the Pokemon League, and graduate school in a way that Nick assumed was easier. After a short while the couple split and Jonathon was soon battling against the horrendous Team Dimension, who masquerade behind the Charity Organization Hillsound, getting their Pokemon from shelters and the like. As Jonathon and his best friend Samantha battled their way through Team Dimension and the remaining Quistis Gyms they soon discovered Nick was now a member of Team Dimension, and Jonathon's desire to crush the evil organization grew even stronger.

After defeating the Gyms of Quistis Jonathon and Samantha followed Team Dimension to Adelburgh City in the Sathalia region (Based upon Adelaide of South Australia) where they were both inducted into the Order of the Sky, an elite Police Force dispatched to take care of Team Dimension. Their leader (and Sam's boyfriend) Jackson was soon revealed as a member of Team Dimension also, and after defeating him Jonathon became the leader and highest ranking officer in the Order of the Sky. With his friends Samantha, Lorelle, Jean and Lucas they did their best to train their Pokemon and fight off Team Dimension, stopping them from obtaining the legendary Pokemon and chasing their sinister leaders Nick, Tyler, Becka, Anna, and Jackson into hiding.

Jonathon's team currently consists of Wartortle, Turtwig, and an egg from Jean's Gardevoir.

PROLOGUE

Turtwig was in his pokeball, though not happy about it. The little turtle had grown fond of walking beside Jonathon. Wartortle, however, seemed to have learned one thing from his special training with Jonathon's brother Matt- how to fall asleep inside a pokeball. The car stopped. Jonathon had arrived.

The Champion was the strongest Pokemon Trainer in the country, in this case it was a girl. Jonathon gazed at her in shock as she walked toward his car, her blue cloak billowing around her."My name's Stephanie," She smiled, "I'm the Champion," She added with a whisper."I'm Jonathon, I'm from the Order of the Sky, we need your help," Jonathon hurried quietly as the two made their way inside the massive building the car had taken him to."I know. But I'm afraid I can't be of much assistance," Stephanie frowned."We need you in the Order. And the other Champions too, we need to stop Team Dimension!" Jonathon begged."There is a place," Stephanie went on, "A place where you could prove yourself,""There's no time for that! We need to fight now!" Jonathon argued."Listen to me, boy," Stephanie said sternly, stopping in her tracks and turning to stare directly into Jonathon's eyes."As we speak Team Dimension hide from you, they evade you, and do you know why?""So we don't stop them!""No! Team Dimension are not just hiding to survive, they are hiding to train! hey are hiding from you, training their Pokemon, building their teams, and you are wasting your time looking for them!" Stephanie told him."Exactly, the longer they hide, the stronger they become, we need to fight them now!" Jonathon cried."You train your team. And you hope that when they come for you, when the war truly starts, you hope that you are strong enough," Stephanie calmly finished."The war is already half over! We're winning, we can end this if you help us!" Jonathon countered."Oh no, boy. The war hasn't even begun," Stephanie chuckled. Her eyes darted up to the monitor overhead."Your plane is boarding," She smiled. Jonathon turned and looked up at the monitor."Unova?" He read. He turned back to the Champion- but she was gone."Final boarding call for Flight QF135 Sydney City, Australia to Mistralton Airport, Unova, please proceed to boarding lounge twelve."

Jonathon stood at the entrance to the boarding tunnel for the flight to Unova. He had Gardevoir's egg in his backpack, Wartortle and Turtwig in their pokeballs."Are we actually gonna do this?" He asked them. Turtwig's pokeball shook on his belt, "Here we go then..."

It was cold in Mistralton City. Jonathon had never liked the cold. Growing up in the deserts of Isamine City afforded him the luxury of year-long Summers. He suddenly missed the warmth, sitting by the lake with his Squirtle. It was thought that reminded him how his life was now so different. Not because he was on the other side of the planet to his hometown, or because he was completely alone whereas just days ago he was surrounded by his friends and colleagues. It was because his Squirtle had evolved. It was only a week ago his brother had come to see him at Headquarters and told him he had great news. Jonathon had given Matt back his Scyther and Matt had handed him a pokeball. Inside was Squirtle, or rather it had been Squirtle. Now it was Wartortle. His little buddy was stronger, the scar on his shell was gone, he had fangs, and a glint in his eye that said they were ready to take on the world. Jonathon took Wartortle's pokeball from his belt as he walked along the main street of Mistralton City and looked at the small sphere. Inside, Wartortle was sleeping. Jonathon had wished he could sleep, but he had to do something. He needed to keep moving, though he was tired from the flight, exhausted from the weeks leading up to this, he had to keep moving, he had to keep fighting. Team Dimension weren't sleeping. But what would Jonathon do? What COULD he do? Why had Stephanie sent him here, to Unova? He suddenly had an idea, since Stephanie wouldn't help, he would find the Unova Champion and request help from them. It was a start, something to do. A cold wind suddenly blew and Jonathon's coat billowed around him. He was wearing his black combat suit underneath the navy blue full-length coat. It billowed in the cold, and the only warmth Jonathon felt was coming from his backpack where Gardevoir's egg lay safe and sound. A flock of bird Pokemon flew overhead, cawing and dropping feathers. JOnathon caught one, a sparkly, pretty feather was a luster he didn't recognize. The Pokemon were different, the buildings were different, even the people rushing by looked so different, he was alone, and for the first time in a long time, he was scared. He looked up and right before him was the Mistralton City Pokemon Gym. Now THIS was something Jonathon knew a thing or two about. He smiled, and picking up his pace he hurried inside.

There was no reception counter, he didn't have to register or go through days of preliminary battles, there was just a man who welcomed him, handed him a complimentary bottle of water and then pointed him through the doors. Jonathon took a deep breath and stepped into the Battle Arena. "Welcome to Mistralton Gym," A girl called out. "Hi, my name's Jonathon," Jonathon called back, his voice was sore form the cold, and it cracked slightly, but the girl smiled and lifted a pokeball. "I'm Skyla, I'm the Gym Leader. How does a two on two battle sound?" She asked cheerily. Lucky for Jonathon he only had two Pokemon."Sounds perfect," Jonathon smiled, and he threw his pokeball into the arena. Skyla did the same, and a giant white bird Pokemon appeared. Jonathon had never seen it before, nor had Turtwig. But it seemed Skyla was unfamiliar with Turtwig as well, she hesitated, and Jonathon took his chance."Turtwig, Energy Ball!" He bellowed."Featherdance!" Skyla countered. The white bird splayed feathers all around it and started to swirl around inside, its body glowing. Turtwig ran forward, a glowing green orb forming in its mouth. "Turtwig now!" Jonathon called, and Turtwig stopped and let the Energy Ball fly forward, it pierced through the featehrs and struck the bird hard, sending it stumbling backward."Swanna, no!" Skyla shrieked. 'So this Pokemon is called Swanna' Jonathon thought o thimself, 'I wonder what its got up its sleeve,""Water Pulse!" Skyla ordered."Turtwig, dodge it, and use razor leaf!" Jonathon smiled. Turtwig darted to the side, narrowly avoiding the shimmering orb of water that Swanna had conjured from its beak and Turtwig let fly with a barrage of razor sharp leaves. They struck Swanna on the side and the bird Pokemon took to the sky, flying across the arena toward Jonathon."Turtwig, another Energy Ball!" Jonatho ordered, and Turtwig came running back toward him."Swanna, Air Slash!" Skyla ordered, and in a snap Swanna turned in the air and shot at Turtwig who fired the Energy Ball at the same moment. Swanna swiveled around it and struck Turtwig hard in the face with its wing. Jonathon leaped to the side as the Energy Ball sailed past his head. "Bubblebeam!" Skyla continued."Another Razor Leaf!" Jonathon countered. The two attacks collided in mid air and an explosion of bubbles and leaves cascaded across the arena. "Air Slash, back-to-back!" Skyla cackled. Swanna was fast, and Turtwig was hit by the first attack before Jonathon could counter."Withdraw! Maximize your defenses!" He called. Turtwig was slowly being knocked backward as Swanna kept up with the barrage of attacks. "Water Pulse!" "Razor Leaf!" Jonathon cried, and out came the attacks. Swanna flew upward to dodge and Jonathon had an idea."Jump back and use Energy Ball, quick!" He ordered. Turtwig shot backward as the Water Pulse urtled toward him, and just before the Energy Ball released Jonathon revealed his plan."Aim for the Water Pulse!" The Energy Ball and Water Pulse collided and were both sent careening upward, swirling this way and that."Now Razor Leaf again, everywhere!" Jonathon cheered, and Turtwig obliged, sending hundreds of tiny leaves skyward. Swanna couldn't evade the razor leaf attacks, but they also obscured its vision, there was a loud crash and then another, the air filled with smoke."One more time! Energy Ball!" Jonathon called and Turtwig launched another Energy Ball, as the smoke cleared Swanna looked down just in time to see the shimmering green orb flying into its face. A bell clanged as Swanna hit the ground. But then there was another sound, a crackling noise, and Jonathon looked over at Turtwig. He was glowing, his feet grew claws, his shell sprouted shrubs and Turtwig's head changed shape. With a grunt, Grotle smiled as Skyla recalled the defeated Swanna."Great work Grotle, you evolved!' Jonathon beamed. Skyla was trying not to smile, but this battle was a challenge, and Skyla loved challenges."Swoobat!" She called. Jonathon decided to stick with Grotle, but before he could say another command Skyla's Swoobat darted forward."Acrobatics!' Skyla ordered. Jonathon had never heard of that attack, he stumbled for a counter, and Swoobat twirled through the air and collided with Grotle. Dirt and dust flew up from the ground, followed by Swoobat who swept into the sky like a dancer. As the dust cleared, Grotle was struggling to stand."Grotle, use Synthesis!" Jonathon attempted, but Skyla was quick. "Finish it off with Heart Stamp!" She cried, and Swoobat darted back down and this time with an explosion of glowing pink Grotle was sent skidding backward across the dirt and he didn't get up. "Grotle, come on!" Jonathon tried, but Grotle was out cold. He lifted his arm and returned Grotle to the pokeball. For a moment he was sad, and worried, but then he remembered who was next, and Jonathon was excited."Okay buddy, it's been a long time! Come on out! Wartortle!" And with a blazing flash of light Wartortle went leaping across the field."Bite it!' Jonathon quickly snapped."Dodge it!" Skyla countered, and Swoobat flew upward."Jump!" Jonathon ordered, and in a flash Wartortle was skyward, he latched onto Swoobat's legs and the bat squealed in pain."Now use your Water Gun!" Jonathon followed, but Wartortle shot him a wink and instead a beam of sparkling ice engulfed Swoobat, who fell to the floor with a crash."Assurance!" Skyla called, and Swoobat gave Wartortle a piercing glare before a cloud of darkness swirled toward him. "You wanna fight with darkness hey," Jonathon teased to Skyla, "Wartortle, use your Hidden Power!"

Jonathon had a flashback, he was suddenly standing next to Nick at one of the Quistis Gyms, it was pitch black, none of them could see, Squirtle was in the arena next to Totodile, and the enemy Pokemon were all around them Suddenly, purple shimmering orbs started to swirl around Squirtle, his eyes went black, black like Wartortle's, and Squirtle no, Wartortle, sent the shimmering purple orbs in all directions. With a deep croak, Wartortle thrust his arms in the direction of Swoobat and the orbs aimed for Skyla's Pokemon. Swoobat had no escape, they barraged from all angles, and with another loud clang Swoobat hit the floor. Jonathon ran forward and wrapped his arms around Wartortle."We did it, buddy!" He cheered, and Wartortle nodded, panting. The darkness faded from Wartortle's eyes. "Congratulations, this is the Jet Badge," Skyla said, walking toward Jonathon and holding aloft the shining badge, his first shining badge of the Unova Region.

Outside, Skyla was pointing out the various routes on Jonathon's map. After the match she had asked where he'd come from and confessed to not knowing either of his Pokemon. Jonathon told her that he too didn't know anything about Swanna or Swoobat. "We were evenly matched then, you sure earned that win," Skyla smiled, "But why did you come to a Region you know nothing about? Most trainers do a little research first," She laughed. Jonathon reminded himself why he was here, and then explained to Skyla that he was here to find the Champion, and train to become stronger. It felt like hours later that he'd finally explained everything to Skyla, the Order of the Sky, Team Dimension, Stephanie's Mission. Skyla understood though, and she offered him all the advice she could. "If you head toward Nuvema Town, Professor Juniper is probably your best bet at finding the Champion. I hear she gave him his starter Pokemon. Do you have a flying Pokemon?" "Not with me," Jonathon sighed, "I left my Flygon back in Australia with all my other Pokemon,""I'm sorry I can't lend you any of mine, but we have the Pokemon World Tournament coming up soon, I need to train,""Pokemon World Tournament?" Jonathon repeated curiously."It's a Tournament they run every four years, this year we're hosting it in Unova. Anyone who has beaten the eight Gyms of their home Region can enter, and all the Gym Leaders and previous Champions too," Skyla explained. Jonathon didn't mention it, but he suddenly realized why Stephanie had sent him here. It wasn't just to get stronger, it was to compete in that Tournament. That was how he would prove himself, not just to Stephanie, but to everyone. Every Gym Leader, every Champion, and every member of Team Dimension. "Well, I guess without a flying Pokemon you should head south toward Driftveil City. Clay is the Gym Leader there, he'd love to battle you, but then go East to Nimbasa City. Elesa is the Gym Leader there. Between you and me she's a nasty piece of work, do me a favour and wipe the floor with her, kay?" Skyla winked."No problem," Jonathon grinned."In fact," Skyla went on, "Do me a favour and wipe the floor with all the Unova Gym Leaders, I can't have you rocking around with just my badge, it'll make me look pretty bad in front of the others,""No sweat," Jonathon laughed. And after a few more minutes, he was strolling out of Mistralton City, Grotle and Wartortle in their pokeballs, and Gardevoir's egg still warming his back. The cold wind billowed around him once more, but this time it was pushing him forward, onward to the next city, and with a smile Jonathon broke into a sprint. Driftveil City was just over the horizon!

"Skyla didn't mention this," Jonathon moaned, scratching his head. Wartortle looked up at the cavern with his head cocked to the side."Warrrrrr," He croaked. He gave Jonathon a feeble smile and then smacked his hand on the pokeball on Jonathon's belt which promptly clicked open and with a blaze of light sucked Wartortle inside."Gee thanks," Jonathon scoffed. He took Grotle's Pokeball from his belt instead and sent out his other turtle. Grotle yawned and smacked his lips, gazing sideways. "Grotle, to get to the next town we gotta get through THERE,” Jonathon told Grotle. Grotle looked up at the looming cavern’s entrance and then back at Jonathon. The turtle shrugged and took a few steps toward the foreboding mountain. “Glad someone’s confident,” Jonathon whispered to himself. The last time he had been in a cavern as dank and uninviting as this one he and his friends had found the concealed lair of Ho-oh and an almighty battle with Team Dimension broke out. It was the last time he’d battled with Jean, she’d been stung countless times by Team Dimension’s Beedrill and died on the battlefield. Her Pokemon remained at the Garden in Jonathon’s Headquarters, bequeathed to him, her battle partner. He had never used them; his only contact with them had been when Gardevoir pressed her egg into his hands a few weeks ago. He couldn’t bring himself to face her Pokemon. Somehow, Jonathon blamed himself. He had bought Jean along with him to Sathalia, they had gone from battling the Quistis Gyms together to fighting Team Dimension, and in the end; she had lost the fight. She had died. “Grotle!” Came the cry. Jonathon’s thoughts dissipated and he was suddenly in battle. A weird looking rock was blocking their path. It was Brown and red with a strange eye in the centre.“Grotle, Energy Ball!” Jonathon ordered, and Grotle obliged, sending a shimmering orb into the Pokémon’s front. The little rock Pokemon rolled backward and out of sight. “Grotle, let’s try and hurry through here as quickly as possible, I don’t know anything about these Poke-WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?” Jonathon threw himself backward as a large spinning silver disc went spiralling past his head. There were two of them, two spinning discs, each one with eerie eyes, making a clinking noise as they bobbed through the air. Grotle jumped to Jonathon’s defense, hurling a pile of sand at the Steel-type Pokemon as it floated by. The odd Pokemon turned to face the pair and sent two shimmering steel discs flying at them with a loud clinking noise. It missed, but Jonathon and Grotle turned and ran down the cavern, further away from the Pokemon.“I think we lost it,” Jonathon panted to Grotle. The two slowly started back along the cave, carefully looking around each bend and glancing back behind them every so often. Finally they came to a large open area and as they stepped out the cave was briefly illuminated in blue light. Crackling electricity seemed to spark from some of the rocks, as though they were supercharged with some sort of energy.“No wonder the map calls this Chargestone Cave,” Jonathon scoffed and Grotle nodded his agreement. “There!’ Jonathon pointed toward an opening across the vast room that led to another cavern. The duo started to cross the room until a cracking sound beneath them made them stop.“Did you hear that?” Jonathon asked Grotle. Grotle looked up at him warily. “Jollllllllll-TIK!” shrieked a voice, and the ground beneath them exploded with dirt. Jonathon fell backward as something attacked Grotle. “Bite it!’ Jonathon coughed through the dirt, and Jonathon heard the scuffle. “Energy Ball!’ Razor Leaf!” Jonathon fumbled, unable to see what was happening, there were flashes of green and yellow, dirt and sparks shot out everywhere.“Withdraw, protect yourself!” Jonathon ordered, changing his tactic, and Grotle drew back. The dust settled and a tiny little yellow bug emerged, scuttling this way and that. “So you’re making all this mess,” Jonathon choked through the dust, “Grotle, bite it!”“Jol!” The bug cried, but Grotle grabbed it in his mouth and bit down hard.“Energy Ball!” Jonathon continued, and with an explosion of green and brown the little bug Pokemon rolled across the cavern floor. Jonathon took a Pokeball from his belt and hurled it at the bug. With a flash and a click the little Pokemon was his, and Jonathon placed it on his belt. “Let’s hurry,” Jonathon panted, noting that Grotle was weak from the battle. Across the cavern, they entered another tunnel and far ahead they could see light.“This must be it!’ Jonathon cheered. It was a little too loud though, for suddenly dozens of bats that looked a little like Skyla’s Swoobat, but much smaller, came flying downward.“Run!” Jonathon yelled, and Grotle began to charge for the exit. Jonathon put his hands over his head, he could feel the flying Pokemon scratching and biting at his hands and scalp, he felt a tuft of his sandy blonde hair come clean from his head.“Just a little more!” Jonathon called, but as he did so a much larger rock Pokemon than he’d seen before rose up in front of the exit. It had two distinguishable limbs and two eyes, red fragments jutted out all over its body.“Boldore!” It moaned.“Energy Ball!” Jonathon ordered, and as they raced toward the Boldore, the Energy Ball sailing ahead of them, pre-evolutions of Swoobat overhead, Jonathon closed his eyes and wondered for a moment if he’d make it. Why had he come to Unova? He didn’t know any of these Pokemon, he didn’t even know who the Gym Leaders were, this was a reckless move! How could the Champion have recommended such an immature decision? There was dust and smoke all around him, Grotle was calling out, the wild Pokemon were shrieking and scuttling all around, and Jonathon tripped, he flew through the air and landed in the soft grass, sliding a few feet. He opened his eyes and lying next to him was Grotle, looking just as exhausted as Jonathon felt, but somehow smiling.“We made it,” Jonathon breathed. Grotle nodded and then closed his eyes.

Having made it through Chargestone Cave appeared to be only the first step to reaching Driftveil City, before Jonathon now stretched a long and winding path through a forest of short, stumpy trees and shrubs. With Grotle out of commission and knowing nothing about the new bug type he had captured, Jonathon had to rely on Wartortle to protect him on the final leg of his journey. It seemed rather peaceful, however Jonathon was now starting to remember he had arrived in Mistralton City just after dawn without having slept on the plane. He was tired, and hungry, but there was no Pokemon Centre between here and Driftveil City, he would have to press on. At least one good thing had occurred- it was now much warmer. The sun was shining, the clouds were bobbing along in the sky, the bird Pokemon were chirping, one of them even came swooping down and landed on a branch nearby. Jonathon slowly took a few steps toward it. There was a flash and Jonathon, startled, jumped backward. His new bug-type Pokemon had come out of its Pokeball and was growling strangely at the dove Pokemon.“Pidove,” The bird Pokemon chirped. “Joltik!’ Jonathon’s bug grumbled.“”Um... are you... a Joltik?” Jonathon asked uncertainly. Joltik nodded and then leaped toward the Pidove. It fired a mess of stringy web at the Pokemon as it made to fly away, sending it fluttering to the ground, and then with a spark it fired a crackling ball of electricity. The Pidove went rolling backward and didn’t move. Jonathon seized his opportunity and threw a Pokeball. The ball shook this way and that, and Joltik must have mistaken it for an attack because the little bug fired another Electro Ball that opened the Pokeball and sent Pidove flying away into the sky.“Nice one,” Jonathon moaned, but Joltik seemed happy with itself. Jonathon recalled Joltik into its Pokeball and continued on his way. As the trees grew thicker and the canopy threatened to block out the sun, that strange chill washed over Jonathon once again. He buttoned his coat up further and pushed forward, trying to fight his fatigue. There were many eerie, spooky noises coming from the forest, but he kept his eyes on the path ahead, trying not to falter. As a sprinkling of snow crossed his path he had to stop and look around. There was nothing nearby, but as he made his way on another scattering of snow fell on the path. He picked up his pace, unsure of this new Region’s weather patterns, but surely with the sun so high in the sky it couldn’t be about to snow? There was more snow up ahead, and just as Jonathon was about to break into a sprint he heard the dull moan from overhead. He looked up too late, there was a giant iceberg creature descending from the forest’s canopy, snow and smoke billowing from its head. It resembled a giant ice cream cone, and the pointed base was looming closer and closer to Jonathon’s head. Jonathon couldn’t have gotten out of the way in time if he tried, but with a flash Joltik reappeared and sprayed a string shot attack upward. In another moment Joltik was firing an Electroweb that wrapped around the ice Pokemon and held it in its tracks momentarily. Jonathon took his opportunity and, with Joltik still perched on his shoulder, he ran. He ran as fast and as hard as he could, through the forest and out over a long grassy plain until he reached a quiet peak. Over the peak nestled in a small valley like the corner of the world sat Driftveil City. “We made it!” Jonathon panted, and before he could recall Joltik to its Pokeball he collapsed in the grass and fell asleep.

Jonathon awoke with a start. It was early morning; the sun was only just risen. He was in the Pokemon Centre, though how he got there was a mystery. Beside him on the bedside table were his three Pokeballs, inside his Pokemon were fully healed. Gardevoir’s egg was sitting in a small glass case behind them. He sat up and found his coat hanging nearby. Pulling it over his combat suit he heard the door and a Nurse walked in. She was blonde and pretty, her blue eyes piercing his soul. “Good Morning! I’m Melody, aren’t you a lucky trainer!” She cooed.“How did I-?” Jonathon started, but she waved him to silence.“Clay found you outside the city near the forest. You’re lucky too, one of the Vanillish got out of the Cold Storage and has been wreaking havoc in the forest; you could have woken up frozen solid!” She laughed. “What’s a Vanillish?” Jonathon asked her. “You’re not from around here are you?” Melody queried. Jonathon slowly shook his head and sat back down on the bed. He slowly explained everything to her, and she bit her lip as she listened. As he finished his story, a big pink Pokemon waddled into the room.“Audino!” It greeted.“This is my Audino; the Nurse’s use them because they’re very good at helping sick Pokemon. And a Vanillish is an Ice-type Pokemon, but that’s not really important. What IS important is that you get to Professor Juniper’s lab in Nuvema Town though. She’s probably the best person to help you. Unova isn’t like the other Regions, a lot of the Pokemon we have here are unique to this area, you won’t find Pikachu and Pidgey around these parts, but an Unfezant would sure love to tear you limb from limb,”“Gotcha,” Jonathon nodded.“I’m gonna give Clay a call, why don’t you shower and get ready and then we’ll see if we’ve sorted you out a trip to Nuvema Town,” Melody smiled.

Clay promised to safely deliver Jonathon to Nuvema Town on one condition- Jonathon had to defeat him and earn his badge. That wouldn’t normally have posed an issue for Jonathon, but Clay insisted on a three on three battle, and Jonathon only had three Pokemon with him, however he didn’t have a lot of faith in his Joltik yet. As he told this to Melody she offered him some advice.“Why don’t you train in the Cold Storage? There are plenty of young Vanillite in there; your Joltik should be alright to battle a few of them.” And with that Jonathon was off to the Cold Storage, a section of Driftveil City with dozens of large storage containers for refrigerated goods. Once again, Jonathon was unsettled by the billowing cold wind. “Well Joltik,” He said, releasing the little bug-type Pokemon into the frosty grass, “time to get some training in before the big match,”“Jol!” “Here we go!’ Jonathon cried as a white shape bobbed up out of the grass nearby. It was smaller than the Pokemon they’d come upon in the forest, but it still resembled an ice cream. “This must be Vanillite, Joltik use your Electro Ball!” Jonathon ordered, and Joltik impressively fired the attack at Vanillite and sent the ice-type spiralling away. “Good work Jo-oof!” Jonathon fell forward as something smacked him from behind. He rolled in the cold grass and saw a small tanned Pokemon holding a large piece of wood. “Hey- that wasn’t very ni-whoa!” Jonathon had to roll to the side as the Pokemon slammed the wood down on the ground, right where he had been a moment ago.“Joltik slow it down with String Shot!” Jonathon commanded, and Joltik seamlessly obeyed, spraying the weapon-wielding Pokemon with sticky web.“Now Electro Ball!” He followed on, and Joltik slammed the Pokemon with the attack, but before either trainer or Pokemon could react, the wood came flying sidewards, Joltik was smacked hard and sent careening away. Jonathon darted after Joltik, scooping it up from the grass. “You okay, pal?” Jonathon asked. Joltik shook its head and sent ice and snow flying in all directions.“Jolt!” It cried happily, Jonathon turned and threw Joltik back into the battle.“Now, Bug Bite!” Jonathon called, trying an attack he hadn’t tested yet. Joltik darted this way and that and then finally leaped onto the other Pokemon, biting hard. The Pokemon dropped its block of wood and Jonathon seized his chance-“Joltik, Electro Ball!” He bellowed, and Joltik jumped back, charged the electricity, and fired with all its might. The Electro Ball slammed into the other Pokemon and it fell into the grass.“Nice work,” Came a voice, “Now if you don’t mind,”“Hey!” Jonathon cried, but it was too late, the other boy had thrown a pokeball at the fallen Pokemon. “Thanks, I’ve been trying to catch a Timburr for quite awhile,” He ******.“That was a dog act!” Jonathon snarled, but the boy just scoffed and looked away.“Nice Joltik, but I wouldn’t pit an electric type against a fighting type if I were you,” He scolded.“My Pokemon are pretty good, they can take on anything,” Jonathon warned.“Really? I bet you think you’re special because you caught a female Joltik, right?” “What do you mean?” Jonathon stuttered.“Everyone knows female Joltik are harder to bond with and harder to train... wait, are you a novice?” The boy berated.“I’m pretty fly where I come from. These Unova Pokemon are all pretty new to me,” Jonathon told the boy, but he wasn’t listening.“I gotta run dude, I’m on my way to challenge Clay, now I have a fighting type I should stand a chance against his Krokorok,” “His what? Wait- what’s your name?” Jonathon called, but the boy was gone. “Damn!” Jonathon cursed. But Joltik seemed happy with herself, she was shooting string shots at the icy grass and sending the ice in all directions. A Vanillite came floating by and Jonathon ordered an Electro Ball attack. The Vanillite went rolling away into the icy grass after one attack.“I think we’re ready,” Jonathon told Joltik, who jumped onto his shoulder and nibbled at his ear, “Let’s do this!”

All Jonathon could say about Clay was that he reminded him a little too much of his Father. Sure, it had been years since he’d seen his Father, but there was no forgetting that burly, manly demeanour. Even as Clay lobbed his Pokeball onto the dusty battlefield in the Driftveil Gym, Jonathon was reminded of his hometown, and his paternal figure. Jonathon threw his Pokeball into the dirt and out popped Joltik, scurrying forward. Back at the Pokemon Centre Nurse Melody had shown Jonathon Clay’s Pokemon team on the InterDex. He recognized Sandslash, but Krokorok and Excadrill were new to him. Krokorok was first, and Jonathon swallowed warily as Joltik scurried toward it. “A tiny little Pokemon for a skinny little trainer, eh?” Clay teased. Jonathon stuttered, not sure how to respond. He couldn’t tell if Clay was teasing or joking, but it didn’t matter- Clay was starting the match.“Krokorok, give em your Sand Tomb!” Clay bellowed. His voice was low and gruff, Jonathon tried to clear his throat and make his own voice deeper.“Joltik, string shot, slow it down!” He ordered, rumbling as low as he could. Clay scoffed, but Joltik darted past the cascading sand Krokorok was hurling around the arena and jumped in front of Krokorok, spraying it with sticky web.“Now Bug Bite!” Jonathon called, his excitement growing.“Block it!” Clay tried, and Krokorok held out a stiff arm that Joltik latched onto. The Bug Bite was still effective, and Krokorok was visibly in pain. “Electro Ball!” Jonathon cried instinctively, but then remembered, “Wait- no! Slash!”“Too late, boy! Bulldoze!” Clay chortled, and Krokorok threw Joltik to the ground and rushed forward, tearing the ground up as it charged. Rocks and dirt flew everywhere, and then Joltik came flying up from the ground, she bounced over the arena but landed on her feet, though a little shaky. “Slash!” Jonathon ordered, and Joltik went barrelling forth, rushing toward Krokorok, but Clay was ready with a counter-“Sand Attack!” He cried, and Krokorok lifted its foot and kicked sand up everywhere, Joltik disappeared into the cloud and Jonathon bit his lip.“Bug Bite!” He called, and suddenly there was a loud crash, Krokorok yelped, more sand and dirt flew everywhere and Joltik let out a cry. Jonathon hesitated for a split second, but then-“Slash!” He cried, and a blinding slice of white flickered through the dust. Krokorok fell backward, out of the fray, and as the dust cleared Jonathon could see Joltik bobbing up out of the dirt. Clay recalled Krokorok with a nasty expression on his face.“Excadrill, you’re up!” He bellowed, and Jonathon quickly recalled Joltik.“Wartortle!” He commanded, and out came his starter Pokemon. Wartortle sized up Excadrill, then shot Jonathon a thumbs up. “Metal Claw!”“Ice Beam!”

The two Pokemon hurled themselves into each other, again and again, ice beams and flashes of metal went spiralling out of the conflict, Jonathon ducked as a piercing blue streak of ice shot past. Wartortle ducked and weaved around behind Excadrill, but Excadrill was flexible and twirled its giant claws behind it, forcing Wartortle to jump where, from mid-air, Wartortle fired another Ice Beam down at Excadrill, who blocked it with a Metal Claw.“Wartortle- get in close and Bite it!” Jonathon countered, changing his tactic.“Keep it at bay with a Rock Slide!” Clay bellowed, but Excadrill wasn’t quick enough, Wartortle latched onto Excadrill just above the claw. Excadrill winced, but then raised its arms anyway, lifting Wartortle into the air. “Wartortle- No!” Jonathon cried, but it was too late. Wartortle looked up just in time to see the pile of rocks slide through the air toward him, and with a crash Wartortle was buried beneath the rocky debris, its tail poking upward. Jonathon returned Wartortle, shocked by the outcome, but he had an idea. “Joltik, Electroweb!” He called as he threw the next Pokeball. Clay looked startled, and the Electroweb did little damage, it really just covered Excadrill in sticky web, the electric charge was useless.“Metal Claw!” Clay cried, and Excadrill came barrelling forward.“Electro Ball, twice!” Jonathon countered. Joltik charged two balls of electricity over its back and just before it fired them Jonathon smiled.“Aim for its claws!” He called, and Joltik fired them off, each one arcing sideways until they collided with Excadrill’s metallic claws, they crackled and sparkled with electricity, but Clay didn’t let up.“Thanks for supercharging my attack! Now, Excadrill, finish it off with an Electrified Metal Claw!” He cheered, and Excadrill loomed over Joltik, its claws glowing silver and crackling with the residual energy of Joltik’s Electro Ball attacks.“Joltik, absorb the electricity and fire one more Electro Ball- right into its face!” Jonathon beamed. “What?” Clay stammered, but it was too late, Excadrill pinned Joltik down with its Metal Claws, the electricity surged through Joltik and super-charged the Electro Ball she was charging, the triple powered Electro Ball exploded forth and Excadrill went flying skyward, it flew back through the air twenty feet before dropping to the ground like a rock. Clay’s jaw was hanging open, and Jonathon put his hands on his hips.“Not bad for a skinny little thing like me, eh?” Jonathon laughed. Clay smiled, then his face set back to the grim look of battle. “Sandslash!” He bellowed.“Grotle!” Jonathon countered, returning Joltik. Both new Pokemon appeared in the same blinding flash of light, they were barely on the field when their trainers ordered their attacks.“Energy Ball!”“Crush Claw!”The two Pokemon sprinted at one another, Grotle charging a glowing green sphere in his mouth, Sandslash charging its claws for the attack. They collided with a mighty explosion, and both were sent skidding back.“Rollout!” Clay ordered.“Razor Leaf!” Jonathon continued, and Grotle fired hundreds of tiny green leaves, they flew at Sandslash who seemed to slow down more and more as the attacks landed, just before Sandslash reached Grotle with the Rollout attack, Jonathon changed his tactic.“Energy Ball, at close range!” He cheered, and Grotle barely had time to charge the shimmering green orb before Sandslash rolled right into it, the explosion again sending both Pokemon backward. This time Sandslash didn’t get up.“Well, I’ll be,” Clay scratched his head. Jonathon grinned, returning Grotle to his Pokeball.

“Congratulations kid, here’s the Quake Badge,” Clay said later as the pair stood at the Pokemon Centre, handing their Pokemon to Nurse Melody.“Jonathon, may I have a look at your egg?” She asked. “Um, sure,” Jonathon replied, pulling his back pack off his back, as he bought it around and unzipped the top there was a blinding white light emanating from within.“I had a feeling,” Melody giggled. Jonathon dropped to his knees and gingerly raised the egg from his backpack, it was hot and shaking, glowing with a white light that burned his eyes. The hard shell seemed to dissolve in his hands, he could feel the soft skin of a baby Pokemon, the light was fading, a blue round head with a red horn, a long white, floppy body, it was a Ralts, though it looked different to the ones Jonathon had seen in books at school. “Is it... is it okay?” Jonathon asked Melody, unable to take his eyes from the baby Pokemon. Melody leaned over the counter, lying across it on her stomach. “It’s fine... do you want me to take a closer look?” She asked. Jonathon slowly stood, holding the Ralts in his hands. “Ralts,” It said slowly. “It’s a boy,” Melody said with a smile, “And he’s a rarer colour than the common green ones. A very healthy specimen,” “So, it’s not sick or anything? It’s okay being the wrong colour?” Jonathon wondered, taking his eyes off of the Pokemon for the first time to look over at Melody.“It’s fine, better than fine, it’s special,” She winked.“If you don’t mind, boy, I got things to do,” Clay suddenly said.“Here,” Melody offered, handing Jonathon an all-white Pokeball, “A special Pokeball for a special Pokemon,” She beamed.“Ralts, return,” Jonathon said softly, and he held the Pokeball up until Ralts dissolved into a white light and disappeared inside.“Now, to get to Nuvema Town I’m gonna give you a Pokemon, don’t worry about getting it back to me, I’ve got plenty of these little fellas, it might take some getting used to, but travelling on the back of one of these is the next best thing to flying,” Clay said, digging around inside his vest. He took out a brown Pokeball and held it out so it opened and released the Pokemon inside; a small, yellow creature with a spiked tail and two tiny, stubbly wings on either side of its body. “This here is called a Dunsparce, you stand on its back and it’ll ferry you wherever you need to go, over water, land, anything,” Clay said, and he picked Jonathon up from under the arms and lifted him onto Dunsparce’s back.“It might take ya a while to get your balance,” Clay warned, “Best to practice out in the gardens,” “Are you serious?” Jonathon stammered, looking up at Clay with a fearful expression. The Dunsparce didn’t seem very safe.“No sweat,” Clay waved, picking up his Pokeballs from the counter and turning to head for the door. Jonathon stepped off the Dunsparce and returned it to its Pokeball.It can’t be healthy for it,” Jonathon said, eyeing the Pokeball worriedly.“Actually it’s perfectly fine, they have really strong bones and backs... and by the way- it’s a girl,” Melody winked, gesturing to Dunsparce inside the Pokeball. “I suppose I should get in some practice,” Jonathon said slowly. Melody slapped him on the back.“Go, speed racer!” She teased.

It wasn’t long before Jonathon was zipping and zooming around the garden in front of the Pokemon Centre on Dunsparce’s back. As she turned he had to lean to keep his balance, but she was quick and very steady, even as they rose over the fences and shrubs he didn’t feel any shakiness, rather just the smooth ride and the wind in his face. She was gradually increasing her speed, as though aware that he was still learning how to ride her, and as she made a very sharp turn at the edge of the garden a protective blue bubble faded into being around she and Jonathon.“Protect... interesting,” Jonathon mumbled to himself.“What a lame way to fly,” A nasal voice sneered from behind him. Jonathon swivelled his hips and Dunsparce turned so he was now facing the boy from earlier.“You’re the kid who stole my catch!” Jonathon cried.“You mean Timburr?” He said, tossing a Pokeball into the air.“That’s right,” Jonathon said, memorizing the name of the Fighting Pokemon that wielded the piece of wood. “All’s fair in Love and Pokemon,” He teased.“What’s your name?” Jonathon snapped, wondering if he would be allowed to arrest the boy while he was in another country.“My name’s Trip, and I’m on my way to becoming the Unova Champion,” He answered.“You’re on your way to becoming a pain in my-” “Oh I see you’ve met,” Melody cheered, stepping out of the Pokemon Centre, “Jonathon, this is my little brother, isn’t he the sweetest?” She winked.“What?” Jonathon stammered, “You’re joking right?”“What’s to joke about?” Trip jeered.“Your face, for one,” Jonathon scoffed.“Hey!” Trip snarled, “You think you’re tough now, how tough do you think you’ll feel after a Pokemon Battle?” And with that he threw a Pokeball and out came a long, green Pokemon with short sticky arms and spindly legs. It had yellow features, and hissed nastily. “Servine, get ready for battle!” Trip ordered.“Oh please, if you had any idea who I was,” Jonathon started, shaking his head, “I don’t have time to battle noobs, I need to get to Nuvema Town,”“You’re scared of battling me, aren’t you?” Trip shouted as Jonathon rose slowly higher on Dunsparce’s back. They were hovering just above the rooftops when he called goodbye to Melody and slowly started to move away, out of the city. “Who is that guy?” Trip asked, watching Jonathon fade into the horizon.“He’s the Leader of the Order of the Sky in Australia,” She told him.“What?!” Trip jumped, dropping Servine’s Pokeball.“That’s right,” Melody laughed, “You stole a Pokemon from Australia’s Chief of Police.”

Riding Dunsparce, though unusual, was a rather efficient means of travel. Dunsparce had great vision Jonathon learned, she couldn’t get much higher than the lower treetops but swirled and swivelled around the higher trees, whenever she made a sharp turn the protective bubble engulfed them and Jonathon didn’t feel gravity pulling him away from her, instead she carried him around at all sorts of angles, before long they were zipping so quickly he almost didn’t see the giant city to his right. Far off in the distance was a big silver cityscape, skyscrapers reached up out of the horizon, it was bigger than Las Vista, where Jonathon had spent most of his journey in the Quistis Region. Soon the city disappeared behind more thick trees and Dunsparce had to drop into the forest to travel, even amidst the dense growth she traveled with the same speed. The cool wind picked up Jonathon’s coat and let it flap and fly around behind him. He had to admit- he must have looked pretty darn cool flying along on his Dunsparce. Finally the forest opened out to a long grassy plain and beyond Jonathon could see a scattering of small houses. Dunsparce slowed and carried him gently over the last ridges and shrubs before stopping and lowering herself into the grass. Jonathon stepped off and held out her Pokeball.“Thanks girl, take a rest,” He told her, and she disappeared inside. Jonathon walked past the wooden signpost that read “Nuvema Town” and started along the dirt road through the houses. It wasn’t long before he came to the largest of the houses which had another sign out front reading “Professor Juniper’s Laboratory- New Trainers Welcome.” He pushed open the big double doors; they were wooden and heavy and made a creak as he did so. A desk sat in the middle of the room with a laptop open and sitting behind it was a young woman.“Welcome, trainer!” The young woman beamed, walking toward him. Her light brown hair was piled high on top of her head with two wisps hanging down on either side of her face.“My name’s Jonathon Psyches, I’m here to see the Professor,” Jonathon told her.“That would be me,” She smiled, “And Clay already phoned ahead, no need to explain.”“Great, I was hoping you could point me in the direction of the Champion, or any other strong trainers,” Jonathon replied. “I’ve got a better idea, how about you say hello to an old friend,” Juniper winked, and she turned her laptop around to face him. There on the screen, beaming up at Jonathon with a flashy smile, her fiery red hair framing her face, the freckles he’d grown to miss poking out at him, was Sam.“Sam!” Jonathon cried, running forward.“Hey! I’m glad you made it to Juniper’s lab, I was worried it would be a bit of a trek from Mistralton,” She smiled, “I miss you!”“You too!” Jonathon told her, “I haven’t traveled alone in so long, I wish you’d come along,”“It’s a good thing one of us stayed here. I have some pretty bad news,” Sam went on, changing the mood, “Tyler, Bekka, Anna and Jackson have all escaped,” “What? How?” Jonathon shouted.“I’m not sure, they just all disappeared from their cell. We had Dark and Psychic types protecting them but somehow someone got in and teleported them out,”“Damn!” Jonathon cursed.“But,” Sam smiled, “On a lighter note, Juniper and I have managed to patch together an International Transfer System, I should be able to send you a Pokemon, I’ve got all your Pokemon here in Pokeballs ready for you to choose but I can only send them one at a time though, it’ll take a couple of hours to reconfigure the system to send the second Pokemon afterward so which one should I send first?” She asked.“I really need Flygon, Unova is too big to travel on foot,” Jonathon told her. Suddenly his task didn’t seem so daunting, with Flygon he could zip over the long routes in no time.“Stand by,” Sam replied. Juniper wheeled a large circular machine toward the desk and started fiddling with the controls, she took a cable and hooked it up to another machine by the wall and then started working on another laptop.“I’m ready,” She told Sam over her shoulder.“I’m initializing the transfer,” Sam started, “The Pokeball has been integrated to the system, I’m extracting the confinement beam now,”“We’ve got your confinement beam, I’m booting up the decryption software,” Juniper told her, “Can you narrow the beam on your end? This’ll take hours to decode,”“Something’s wrong... The Pokeball is re-materializing,” Sam said worriedly. Jonathon bit his lip.“Wait, I’ve got a lock, I’m adjusting the dispersal pattern... Almost got it,” Juniper replied.“Something’s wrong, the system is crashing on my end,” Sam cried, her voice frantic.“I’ve got it,” Juniper told her, concern in her voice, “I’ve got the Pokeball, it’s here,” She said, stepping around the desk to the circular machine and opening its domed lid. Inside was a Pokeball. She handed it to Jonathon. “My system is offline, I’ll have to reconfigure the subroutines and run a diagnostic to see what went wrong,” Sam told the pair, “But at least you have Fly-”“That’s strange,” Juniper said quietly.“What? What is it?” Jonathon asked her quickly.“All our communications have gone offline. It’s like there’s a huge thunderstorm or radio interference outside,” She explained. As one Juniper and Jonathon turned and headed toward the double doors, as they pulled them open they both gasped. “What are they?” Jonathon cried, pointing to the hundreds of tiny silver Pokemon flying in circles around the town.“They’re Klink’s, they usually dwell in Chargestone Cave, I’ve never seen this many this far away from their natural habitat,” Juniper cried over the loud whirring and crashing of the Klink. Thundershock attacks and supersonic waves were flying everywhere.“If we don’t stop them they could destroy our radio tower, then we won’t have any communications in or out of the town,” “Flygon, let’s go!” Jonathon cried, throwing Flygon’s Pokeball into the air. It opened and a small flash of light darted back down to the ground where a tiny little Torchic appeared. It was the Torchic Jonathon had captured on Southern Island while searching for Articuno, he had left it at the Garden and not had a chance to use it yet, but where was Flygon?“Something went wrong, Sam sent the wrong Pokemon,” Jonathon called. A Klink came zooming down toward Torchic and started throwing a Supersonic attack at the little firebird.“Torchic, ember!” Jonathon ordered and the little bird sprayed glowing embers on the Klink which backed away immediately, “Keep it up, hold them off with ember!” Jonathon ordered. He devised a plan quickly- if Klink were weak against fire they could be steel types, maybe Joltik’s electric attacks would also be effective, and before he had finished with his thoughts Joltik was bursting out of the Pokeball in his hand.“Electro ball!” Jonathon commanded, “And Torchic, keep up with ember!” “It’s too late!” Juniper called, and as Jonathon followed her gaze he saw the tall radio tower adjacent to Juniper’s lab start to teeter, sparks flew from its base and with a mighty creak it fell.“Return!” Jonathon called, and both Torchic and Joltik exploded into a blaze of light and flew back to his outstretched arms, their Pokeballs in his hands. Juniper grabbed the scruff of Jonathon’s coat and pulled him backward through the double doors. The tower crashed with a loud bang and blocked the doorway, and as quickly as it had started the Klink were gone, leaving nothing but destruction in their wake.“Could they have been attracted to the radio waves?” Jonathon asked Juniper.“It’s possible, but... They would have had to have been nearby to pick up the radio waves in the first place. It doesn’t make sense,” She speculated.“This is bad,” Jonathon breathed, “And I didn’t get Flygon...”“Listen,” Juniper said calmly, “Unova has its own Order of the Sky, here it’s called the Order of Unova. Anyone in the Order will be able to help you communicate back home, they have the technology, I think there’ll be an agent in Striaton City, it’s not far from here, if you head for Striaton maybe you’ll find someone there,”“Thanks for all your help,” Jonathon grinned dully.“Sorry I can’t help much,” Juniper apologized, “Oh, but maybe I can!” She suddenly perked up. She rushed over to her desk and opened a drawer.“This is a Pokedex, it’ll tell you everything you need to know about the Unova Pokemon,” She promised, “Take it with you, it’s my last one, but I don’t mind,”“Gee, thanks!” Jonathon beamed, and before he could stop himself he hugged her. Juniper didn’t seem to mind,“It’s been a pleasure Jonathon, really,” She reciprocated, “And if there’s ever anything else I can do, let me know. But it’ll be a few weeks before you can call here, the radio tower is responsible for all communication in and out of the town. Repair crews will have to start straight away, I should rally the townspeople,”“Of course, I’ll get out of your hair, thankyou again, so, so much!” Jonathon gushed. Juniper waved him on, and together the two clambered over the fallen radio tower and Jonathon headed for the road out of Nuvema Town. He checked his map and started to wander along the path that would lead him to Striaton City. As he walked he thought to himself about his team. Now he had Grotle, Wartortle, Joltik, Ralts Dunsparce and Torchic, that was six. He couldn’t catch any more Pokemon, at least not until he arranged for them to be transported somewhere. He was so far from home he couldn’t send them to the Garden like usual, and Juniper was out of the question now that Nuvema Town was cut off from the rest of Unova. It was quite the dilemma. As he pondered he was shaken from his thoughts by a wild Pokemon fluttering down from the sky and landing in front of him. He consulted the Pokedex which told him it was a Pidove, a flying type at a low level.“Torchic, ember!” Jonathon called, throwing Torchic’s Pokeball. Torchic lunged out of the flash of light spraying embers at the tiny bird. Pidove cawed and flapped into the air.“Scratch!” Jonathon continued, and Torchic hopped up and scratched Pidove with his clawed feet. Pidove fell backward to the ground and spluttered in the dirt.“Another ember,” Jonathon finished, and Torchic struck the Pidove with an ember attack so hard it rolled off the path and into the bushes.“Nice work,” Jonathon told Torchic. He didn’t recall the little firebird, instead he walked with him hopping alongside, happily scratching and pecking at the ground as they went. After awhile Torchic hopped form the path toward a bush then re-emerged a second later with a berry in its beak.“Nice one, it’s all yours,” Jonathon smiled, and as they walked Torchic gobbled the berry up, dropping bits of juice and seed everywhere as they went. Just as another town appeared on the horizon Jonathon heard a sound from behind them. He turned quickly, anticipating another battle, but instead it was a tiny dog wagging its tail, licking up the remnants of Torchic’s berry behind them. Jonathon laughed, and Torchic hopped up onto his shoulder. The two continued on, watching Pidove flying overhead, it was a sunny, peaceful day. Jonathon found it hard to believe just an hour ago they were battling a fierce group of Klink in Nuvema Town. He looked up Klink on the Pokedex, he remembered them from Chargestone Cave, and Juniper was right, they shouldn’t have been anywhere near Nuvema Town. Something was definitely amiss. Before he could truly ponder these thoughts Torchic chirped to let him know they were walking through a large gate into a new town.“Accumula Town?” Jonathon read from the sign, “Well, at least they have a Pokemon Centre.”

After healing his Pokemon Jonathon quickly made his way to the other side of the town and consulted his map. Striaton City wasn’t much further, and now that Dunsparce was healed he could make the journey much faster. He threw Dunsparce’s Pokeball ahead of him and ran to Dunsparce, he jumped onto her back as she sped off, leaving a trail of dust behind them. The trees whizzed past, before long a Pidove was flying alongside them, but after another moment it was gone, soaring higher and into the sunlight, the forest became thicker, Dunsparce’s protective bubble shielded them from the sharp turns around the wayward trees, then they were suddenly soaring over a lake, the water glistening below them. Jonathon bent down low and touched the water’s surface, sending a stream spraying up as they circled the blue shimmer. They continued on over the embankment and through a clearing, past more trees and then they came out to a long, yellowed path that wound through several grassy hills. Dunsparce rose higher in the air and over the plains. She came to a stop on the last hill before the pathway that led down to Striaton City.“Thanks girl,” Jonathon cooed, scratching her chin before returning her to the Pokeball. He jogged the rest of the way to Striaton City and stepped into the city with a smile on his face. There were people all over the main street; vendors had set up markets selling all kinds of foods. There were so many glorious scents in the air, Jonathon breathed them in and closed his eyes, his smile widening. He walked through the crowd and it suddenly started to grow thicker, there was a table in the center of the square and three teenagers about Jonathon’s age were there cooking something that smelled amazing. Jonathon’s heart was racing as he drew closer, he had to get closer, he couldn’t believe his eyes! It was the most amazing thing, he was floating on air as he somehow made his way to the front of the crowd, watching the three chefs twirling spatula and fork as the crowd clapped and gasped. One of the boys, the one on the left, he had green hair, and he twirled different spice shakers over the pan. The blue haired boy on the right was pouring in the batter, he had a fork in his other hand to take the cooked pancakes away. In the middle, he had red hair, but not red like Sam’s, it was Red and Orange and Blonde with Chestnut Browns and streaks all through, it looked like a fire on top of his head. He stepped forward with a beaming smile and flicked his wrist, flipping the golden pancake high over their heads then caught it back in the pan, the smell wafted across the crowd.“Isn’t it beautiful?” The woman next to Jonathon breathed.“Yes,” Jonathon gasped, “Yes, he is.”

Jonathon couldn’t take his eyes off him. They finished their cooking demonstration and the crowd applauded, but Jonathon was too mesmerized to cheer, he just kept staring, every time the red-headed boy’s eyes roved over the crowd in Jonathon’s direction, Jonathon’s heart leaped into his throat. He had a kind voice, soft and caring, the way he walked made Jonathon smile, and his smile was something to behold also, it beamed through the crowd. “Hi, I’m Chilli,” The boy said. Jonathon stammered, lost for words, he hadn’t even realized Chilli had walked directly to him. “Jonathon,” The embarrassed Australian choked. Chilli’s smile widened.“You’re new around here, aren’t you trainer?” Chilli laughed. Jonathon nodded, unable to speak for nerves.“Come meet my brothers,” Chilli said, and he reached out and grabbed Jonathon’s elbow. His hand was so warm Jonathon could feel it through his coat sleeves, Chilli dragged him through the crowd over to the other two boys.“This is Cress,” Chilli introduced, pushing Jonathon toward the brother with blue hair. He had his lip pierced and his blue hair hung down over one eye. As he reached forward to shake Jonathon’s hand, with his other hand he swept the fringe out of his face and Jonathon saw another piercing in his eyebrow.“Hi, I’m the Water Pokemon expert,” Cress winked.“And I’m Cilan, I prefer Grass types, but not exclusively. I don’t mind any type of Pokemon, but my Pansage is a Grass type,” The green headed brother carried on.“You talk too much,” Chilli laughed as Cress turned away and continued packing up their table. Cilan blushed and looked down, his eyes falling on the pokeballs on Jonathon’s belt.“You’re a Trainer,” Cilan started, looking up, “Why don’t you come by the Gym for a battle?”“Wait, are you the Gym Leader?” Jonathon asked excited.“We all are,” Chilli interrupted, standing in front of his brothers. Jonathon was overcome by that awkward feeling again. “Why don’t you meet us there, we need to finish packing up,” Cilan said sternly, putting a hand on Chilli’s shoulder and steering him back toward the table.“It’ll be a three-on-three match,” Cress winked at Jonathon. “Thanks,” Jonathon choked one more time. Cress smiled a she bent down and folded the table legs away. He stood up and lifted the table as one flat board and gave Jonathon one last wave before following Cilan who was steering Chilli away.“Pokemon Centre,” Jonathon suddenly realized, looking around. He spotted it down a side street and hurried away, rubbing his face with his hand. What an embarrassment, he couldn’t believe how childish and shy he’d suddenly become, but Chilli was adorable. No matter how hard he tried Jonathon couldn’t shake the image of the sparkling brown eyes, and that hair! Jonathon waited while the Nurse healed his Pokemon and he quickly devised a battle strategy: Torchic against grass, Joltik against water, and Wartortle against fire. Then he stopped by the bathroom to check himself in the mirror. He fixed his combat suit collar, and then fiddled with the belt on his coat. He tweaked the collar on the coat so it rested nicely against the combat suit and finally took from his pocket a gift Sam had given him for his last birthday- Pocket-Product. He slicked his hair so it spiked in all the right places, and after a few more poses in the mirror he left the Pokemon Centre, heading for the Gym.

Cilan stood in the middle with Cress on his left, his lip piercing catching the light and sparkling in the distance. On Cilan’s right was Chilli, smiling and looking ever so dashing. Jonathon tried to keep his cool. All three Gym Leaders were wearing black vests over white long sleeve shirts, Cilan had business pants but both Cress and Chilli were wearing skinny jeans, all black of course. Chilli’s shoes, unlike Cilan’s and Cress’ were a shining patent black. “I’m first!” Chilli cried, throwing his Pokeball into the arena.“Pansear!” The little red monkey cheered as it appeared on the field. Jonathon didn’t need to consult the Pokedex to know what type it was, he threw Wartortle’s Pokeball and out came his oldest friend.“Wartortle, go straight in with a Bite attack!” Jonathon ordered, and Wartortle materialized from the Pokeball and bounded into the air off his legs, he barreled across the field toward Pansear, but Chilli was waiting.“Counter with Crunch!” Chilli yelled.“Withdraw!” Jonathon tried, but Wartortle was already too close, Pansear scurried forward and bit down hard, grinding his sharp teeth against Wartortle’s head. Wartortle rolled backwards, shaking himself free.“Flame Burst!” Chilli continued.“Jump back, and block with Hidden power!” Jonathon countered. Wartortle leaped back as Pansear started swelling up in the belly, embers furling around his ears. Wartortle charged his Hidden Power, his eyes became black as the night, and then with a loud roar Pansear unleashed a burst of flames that spiraled out in all directions. Wartortle followed suit, launching a circle of shimmering purple orbs that deflected the flames with big, black explosions. “Bite it!” Jonathon ordered.“Solarbeam!” Chilli roared, his eyes blazing in the battle. The two Pokemon darted into the smoke from the explosion and as the darkness cleared Wartortle was biting Pansear’s tail, but the little monkey was holding a brilliant glowing light over his head.“Now!” Chilli commanded, and Pansear bought the Solarbeam down, slamming Wartortle and sending him skidding backward across the field. “Wartortle, come on buddy, get up!” Jonathon pleaded. Wartortle didn’t move.“The match goes to Chilli,” Cilan called.“No!” Jonathon cried, waving his hand at the Gym Leaders. Slowly, with a shaking arm, Wartortle pushed himself upright. He held one of his shoulders as he caught his breath, leaning over with a hunch.“War...” He panted.“Pansear, finish this with another Flame Burst!” Chilli yelled. Jonathon couldn’t believe he was moments away from losing to a Gym Leader, least of all one that was so darn cute, he had wanted to impress Chilli, not lose to him. How could this be happening, Wartortle was a water type, he had the type advantage. And suddenly it all became clear to him, why they were losing, why Chilli had come this close to defeating him, and Jonathon knew how to finish it.“Hydro Pump!” He screamed, not a moment too soon. Wartortle ducked his head into his shell just as the flames engulfed him, there was a gurgling noise for a split second and then a huge blast of water erupted from Wartortle’s shell, it sent the flames billowing away and careened across the battlefield until it struck Pansear in the face, the little monkey went flying along the water jet until it slammed into the wall, Wartortle didn’t let up, the stream of water pinned Pansear to the wall for a long moment, until finally the monkey hit the ground and drooped his head.“The match goes to Jonathon,” Cilan said disbelievingly.“Pansear, are you okay?” Chilli cried, rushing over to his Pokemon. After a few moments, Chilli recalled Pansear to his Pokeball and then turned back to his brothers, his face aghast with shock.“I can’t believe it, I haven’t lost in... in weeks!” Chilli gasped.“I won’t go down so easily,” Cress sneered, raising a Pokeball above his head, “Come on, Panpour!”“Wartortle, that’s enough, Joltik, you’re up!” Jonathon ordered, switching his Pokemon. Panpour looked just like Pansear, except blue and with slightly different features. “Joltik, slow it down with a couple of String Shots,” Jonathon began.“Panpour, get your move ready,” Cress smiled. Jonathon wondered what he was up to, but Panpour put his hands together and closed his eyes, concentrating. The string shots cascaded over the field and stuck to Panpour, but the blue monkey didn’t mind, Cress and Panpour ignored the attack.“I should warn you, my Panpour has some pretty sick moves,” Cress winked to Jonathon, “Panpour, get in close!”“Joltik, Electro Ball!” Jonathon quickly ordered as Panpour darted close to Joltik. Joltik charged the attack and hurled the Electro Ball at Panpour who was directly in front of her. Panpour was hit hard in the face, smoke exploded all around them, but as the smoke began to thin Cress roared, “Now!” and Panpour came leaping through the smoke, its fist glowing blue.“Ice Punch!” Cress bellowed and Panpour slammed Joltik into the ground with his fist, huge shards of ice piercing upward around the earth, for a brief moment Joltik looked like it was frozen solid, but as Panpour darted backward the ice receded slightly, and a few pieces fell to the ground, shattering.“Joltik, Bug Bite!”“Aqua Tail!” Cress countered, and just as Joltik was close enough to bite Panpour hard, the little monkey swung its tail around and with a flashing blaze of blue Joltik was sent flying back to Jonathon, landing hard in the dirt. He couldn’t attack at close range or Panpour could hit with its physical attacks, the only way to win this was to draw Panpour into a long range battle using their special attacks.“Joltik, wide circles, use Electro Ball again and again!” Jonathon ordered. Joltik started to scuttle around the arena, making a large wide circle around Panpour, she charged and fired her first Electro Ball, then the second, and soon she was firing off a barrage of attacks.“Panpour, block with Ice Punch!” Cress defended, and Panpour obliged seamlessly, sending the Electro Ball attacks barrelling away with more Ice Punch’s, before long Panpour was surrounded by shards of ice and a slick disc of cold on the ground near his feet. None of Joltik’s attacks had gotten through and the monkey didn’t look tired. As the Electro Ball barrage had been happening Jonathon consulted the Pokedex, not looking for Panpour, but rather for Joltik. He had one more ace up his sleeve.“Joltik, continuous Signal Beam!’ He called, and Joltik nodded. She kept running in the wide circle but now with a mighty bang and a very shaky start, a huge, colourful Signal Beam erupted from Joltik, it shattered the ice and sent it everywhere, huge chunks crashed around Panpour, and the poor Pokemon couldn’t escape, he was trapped in his own icy prison until the giant Signal Beam burst through the ice debris and sent Panpour flying through the other wall of ice. Panpour skid across the dirt toward Cress, and then leaped to his feet.“Scald!” Cress cried.“Electro Ball!” Jonathon yelled, and Joltik flew through the smoke and ice until it was metres from Panpour where it unleashed the attack. At the same time Panpour aimed his tail and fired a smoky white water blast that collided with the Electro Ball, the ball fizzled and crackled, disappearing and traveling up the water stream and into Panpour’s tail, within a second Panpour exploded into smoke, the monkey went soaring straight up into the air. “Panpour!” Cress called.“Way to go, Joltik!’ Jonathon cheered, smiling down at the little yellow bug as it jumped back and forth on the battlefield.“A little premature for celebrations, don’t you think?” Cilan smiled.“Crunch!” Cress yelled.“Electro Ball!” Jonathon tried, but it was too late, Panpour was only a few feet above Joltik, his sharp teeth bared and gnashing. Joltik charged the Electro Ball but it was too late, Panpour came down and swallowed the attack, then bit hard on Joltik. “No!” Jonathon and Cress cried in unison, but it was too late, their Pokemon exploded and both were sent skidding across the battlefield. Jonathon looked down as Panpour came to a stop at his feet, twitching but unconscious. Joltik was on her back in front of Cress, her body smoky and damaged.“It’s a draw,” Cilan breathed.“I don’t believe it,” Cress scoffed, scooping up Joltik and walking her across the field to Jonathon.“Thanks,” Jonathon said, recalling her to the Pokeball. Jonathon helped Cress sit Panpour up and check he was okay before they returned him to his Pokeball. “So now it’s just me,” Cilan called out over the arena, “Defeat me and you win the Trio Badge,” “And MAYBE Chilli’s affection,” Cress said quietly next to Jonathon. Jonathon shot him a surprised look.“What? Come on, you must have seen how he looks at you?” Cress teased.“Yeah I guess,” Jonathon stammered, “But why maybe? What’s the catch?”“Well, we can’t approve of you if you can’t win against us in a Pokemon Battle, that wouldn’t make us very good big brothers,” He winked. “So if I win, I get your approval?” Jonathon repeated.“Well, you get mine... Cilan’s isn’t really important. He’s all about the Gym. But me, I’m a family man,” Cress smiled, sauntering back over to his brothers. Now there was something at stake Jonathon’s heart was racing. He raised his last Pokeball.“Pansage!“Torchic!”“Bullet Seed!”“Ember!”“Look out!’ Cilan cried and Pansage jumped into the air, soaring high over the ember attack.“Acrobatics!” Cilan continued.“Peck!” Jonathon countered. As Pansage came down and struck Torchic, the little firebird had its beak pointed and ready, but it was no use, Pansage was too strong and Torchic went rolling away. “Scratch it!’ Jonathon ordered.“Vine Whip!” Cilan retorted, and Pansage grabbed Torchic’s clawed foot and tripped Torchic over. “Tor, tor, tor, chic!” Torchic squealed in anger, little puffs of smoke billowing from its head. Jonathon checked the Pokedex, Torchic was female but didn’t know many moves. “Ember again!’ Jonathon told her, and she sent more flames in Pansage’s direction, but the monkey was too quick it soared higher into the air, then came down and slammed Torchic with another Bullet Seed.“Scratch it!” Jonathon attempted, but Torchic gave him a filthy look. As Pansage came in close for another attack, Torchic began to glow; she fell onto her back and then somehow kicked up off the ground, flying for Pansage with her sharp clawed feet pointed. With one claw on each of Pansage’s arms she let out a cry and her claws exploded with a dazzling light, Pansage stumbled backward, his arms severely damaged.“Jonathon looked down at his Pokedex, a new move had been listed- Crush Claw. Beside it was a tiny symbol that looked like an egg. “Was that... an egg move? Inherited from its parent?” He wondered to himself, but he didn’t have time to ponder, Pansage was firing Bullet Seeds at Torchic as the little Pokemon hopped around in circles, dodging them.“Torchic, ember!’ Jonathon ordered, and she fired the embers toward Pansage. She couldn’t get close enough to land the attack, instead it landed nearby and made a small fiery pool. “Torchic, keep up with ember, but don’t get too close,” Jonathon called to her. She continued hopping around, dodging the Bullet Seeds, but still firing the embers which created more pools of fire around Pansage.“You know what he’s doing, right bro?” Cress asked Cilan. Cilan smiled and nodded slowly.“Pansage, in the air for Seed Bomb!” Cilan ordered, and Pansage jumped up higher than ever and fired several large seeds that exploded when they hit the ground. “Torchic, fire the embers right above your head!” Jonathon quickly snapped and Torchic sent the attack skyward just in time to block one of the seeds heading her way. “Acrobatics on the way down, Pansage!” Cilan continued.“When it gets close!’ Jonathon started, and then he shot Torchic a look. She nodded as she braced herself, understanding his unspoken word.“They’re up to something,” Cress warned, but Cilan gritted his teeth. Pansage came down twirling, his body starting to glow with energy for the attack.“Now!” Jonathon yelled and Torchic dropped onto her back and lifted her claws up, grabbing Pansage and administering another Crush Claw attack. Her claws exploded with light again, Pansage yelped, but Cilan was ready.“Bullet Seed at close range!” He retaliated, and with Torchic holding Pansage right in front of her the Bullet Seeds struck her square in the face. She let go and Pansage landed on the ground, still attacking. Torchic rolled backward, Pansage bearing down on her.“Ember!’ Jonathon called, and the flames licked up at Pansage, but instead they only met the Bullet Seed attack, deflecting in all directions. Smoke swirled up in all directions engulfing the pair.“Finish it up with Bite!” Cilan jeered. Jonathon couldn’t see anything through the smoke, and it was billowing out further, encompassing the whole battlefield, he looked down at his Pokedex and saw attacks appearing on the list, more and more of them as he suddenly realized what must be happening in the smoke.“Double Kick!’ Jonathon cried, and he heard the unmistakable thuds of the attack.“Quick Attack!” He continued, and there was a swirl in the smoke, then another thud.“Finish it off with Slash!” He yelled, and with a flash of light the smoke was split, parting away as Jonathon’s newly evolved Combusken knocked Pansage with one more attack, sending the little monkey spinning through the air until it landed with a crash on the ground.“Great work, Combusken!” Jonathon cheered, and Combusken nodded, waving an arm in the air. “You did it!” Chilli cried, running across the battle field as Cilan returned his Pansage to its Pokeball. “Nice job, Cress beamed, waking alongside Cilan as they made their way over to Jonathon as well. Chilli was full of smiles, whereas Cilan looked a little more than disappointed.“This is the trio badge,” He said begrudgingly, “Congratulations,”“Really, that was amazing,” Cress complimented, shaking Jonathon’s hand, “And you have our approval,” “What approval?” Cilan asked, but Cress put a hand on his shoulder.“We should get to the Pokemon Centre, bro,” Cress told him, turning him away from Chilli and Jonathon. Chilli was smiling from ear to ear, even though he’d lost, he couldn’t take his eyes away from Jonathon’s, and Jonathon didn’t mind. He smiled back. “Do you drink Coffee?” Jonathon asked.

Chilli was very inquisitive, he asked so many questions. Like what was Jonathon’s favourite food, where di he grew up, what were his favourite Pokemon, how long has he been a trainer, but Jonathon didn’t mind answering all his questions. He told Chilli how he grew up in Isamine City, far out to the west of the Quistis Region in Australia, which was a whole other continent that Chilli had never been to. He told Chilli about the long desert roads, the lush rainforests, the rivers flowing with water and the dried up creek beds filled with Slowpoke that weren’t actually very slow, and for the record- liked chasing young trainers. Chilli laughed as Jonathon told him how he and Squirtle used to run through the creek bed home from school being chased by herds of Slowpoke. He told Chilli about his journey from Isamine City to Towa Bay, how he caught an Oddish along the way. In Towa Bay he had gotten another badge, and then travelled to Las Vista- the big city. There he had caught a Nincada in the forest which evolved into both Ninjask and Shedinja, Pokemon Chilli hadn’t even heard of. He told Chilli about the Gym Battles in Las Vista, the Dog Gym, the Snake Gym, and the Gym that was so high in the air if your Pokemon was knocked off the edge of the platform it could fall down to the street below. That was the Gym run by Anna, a member of Team Dimension. “What are Team Dimension?” Chilli asked with a quizzical look.“They’re a very evil group of trainers who hide behind charity organizations and take abandoned or stolen Pokemon for themselves, I tried to stop them,” Jonathon answered, “And I came pretty close, but...” Jonathon sighed.“What happened?” Chilli asked, biting his lip as he leaned forward over the table at the cafe they were at. He had finished his Iced Chocolate (Because Chilli didn’t actually drink Coffee) but was hanging on Jonathon’s every word.“Well, we couldn’t follow Team Dimension to Veronica, the region to the south, because we didn’t have all the badges of Quistis, once we had the badges we could battle the Gyms of other regions so we followed them to Veronica and almost captured them, but they knew we were onto them and fled to Sathalia, that’s to the West, so we ended up in Sathalia at the capital- Adelburgh City. That’s where I was inducted into the Order of the Sky,” Jonathon said.“SHH!” Chilli suddenly hissed, he looked over Jonathon’s shoulder and spied around the cafe.“What?” Jonathon asked.“It’s okay, no one heard you,” Chilli breathed, “But you should keep that quiet,”“Why?” Jonathon was confused. Chilli smiled wickedly, “We have an Order like that too, it’s called the Order of Unova, but it’s Top Secret. I’m not a member... yet,”“That’s excellent, I need to find someone in the Order that can help me, we need an army to fight Team Dimension, they’re too strong,” Jonathon whispered.“I only know one person in the order,” Chilli explained in a hushed voice, “But they’re not here. In Nacrene City, they say one of the Museum Curators is a member,” “How far is Nacrene City?” Jonathon asked.“Well if we left in the morning we could be there by nightfall,” Chilli smiled.“Then I guess we’ll leave in the morning,” Jonathon smiled back. He took his wallet out and dropped some money on the table for the waitress then stood up and took his Pink Credit Card from his wallet.“Do you know where I can find a hotel?” He asked with a smirk.

Cress had come to see the pair off, he had packed them lunch, as well as Chilli’s clothes and Pokeballs, toiletries and whatnot. “Make sure you brush your teeth,” Cress chastised his brother.“I will, I’m nineteen years old, I’ll be fine Cress, lay off,” Chilli blushed. Jonathon tried not to laugh, and Cress gave him a wink.“I packed your Lillipup as well; you shouldn’t rely so much on Pansear,” Cress continued.“Aw yay, Lillipup is the cutest!” Chilli beamed, taking the Pokeball out of the side pocket of his bag as Cress handed it to him. Chilli released Lillipup and Jonathon saw for the first time the tiny little puppy Pokemon. It was by far the cutest thing he’d ever seen, and as Chilli picked it up and let it lick his face Jonathon’s heart melted and threatened to ooze out his belly button.“Okay, you better go,” Cress interrupted, and with that Chilli nodded, stood to his feet and returned the tail-wagging Lillipup to its Pokeball. “Straight down this road all the way to the end. Try not to stray into the forest too much,” Cress advised, pointing them to the road out of Striaton City.“Thanks bro!” Chilli waved, hugging his brother quickly and then after a quick handshake goodbye Jonathon watched Cress walk away, back to the Gym.“I’m so excited; I’ve never been on an adventure on my own before! I mean, I know I’m not on my own, but my brothers are always around, it’s like I’m all grown up and leaving home,” Chilli rattled. Jonathon smiled to himself.“Well, you are all grown up, you’re nineteen and a Gym Leader, that’s a great achievement,” Jonathon told Chilli.“Well, not really. There’s this girl I was reading about in the Sinnoh Region of Japan, she’s only like ten years old or something. Her name’s Maylene, and she uses fighting Pokemon,” Chilli was ecstatic and talking so fast Jonathon was having a hard time keeping up.“In Australia we have age restrictions on everything. For awhile they even stopped giving out starter Pokemon, my parents paid a fortune for my Squirtle. And half the kids at school had even more expensive Pokemon. My friend Lorelle, she paid $700 for a Piplup,”“What’s a Piplup?” Chilli suddenly asked.“They’re water types, native to... Sinnoh I think,” Jonathon pondered.“We should go to Sinnoh next,” Chilli said, starting to skip along the path. Jonathon quickened his pace to keep up.“Hold on a minute, I’ve got to stop Team Dimension first,” Jonathon laughed. “Yeah, then we can go to Sinnoh,” Chilli went on, “And Kanto and Johto, and maybe even Hoenn if the boats are sailing!” “I’ve always wanted to go to Hoenn,” Jonathon said wistfully.“The only place you two are going is the nearest Pokemon Centre after I defeat all your Pokemon!” An annoying voice interrupted. Jonathon put his head in his palm as Chilli looked around frantically for the owner of the voice. “It’s just Trip,” Jonathon told Chilli.“Who’s Trip?” Chilli asked.“I am,” Trip answered, and out from the shadow of a tall tree stepped the ever-irritating Trip, his greasy blonde hair and snobbish nose as insulting to the eyes as always. Rather than endure the usual painfully annoying encounter, Jonathon tried a different approach to dealing with Trip.“Would you like to have a battle, Trip?” He asked, his eyes half closed, raising a Pokeball from his belt up close to his face with a menacing grin.“You’re on, copper!” Trip chortled. “DON’T call me copper!” Jonathon snapped, throwing his Pokeball at Trip. It smacked him on the head and he fell over backwards, dropping his Pokeball. It opened with a flash and out came a small green snakelike Pokemon with yellow features. It looked down at Joltik with a judgemental expression.“Snivy!” It cooed as Trip jumped back to his feet, rubbing his head.“That wasn’t very nice, I should report you!” Trip nagged.“I’m not a police officer,” Jonathon told Trip with a sigh, “I’m in charge of the Order of the Sky, an Elite group of Trainers sworn to protect the world from evil, Joltik, Bug Bite!”“Sounds like you’re a copper to me,” Trip sneered as Snivy fell to the ground, “Scratch it!” “Joltik, dodge and use Electro Ball,” Jonathon countered lazily, “Maybe I am a Police Officer, but you really can’t go around telling people that. I’m sort of undercover,” “Underrated more like,” Trip joked, making Chilli roll his eyes. “Okay, that’s it. I don’t have time for your childish nonsense,” Jonathon said, returning Joltik to her Pokeball and turning his back on Trip and the battle.“Hmph! I knew you couldn’t beat me,” Trip gloated. “Okay, that’s it,” Jonathon said sternly. Without turning around he tossed a Pokeball over his shoulder, “Combusken, Fire Spin!”“Snivy, look out!” Trip yelled, but it was too late, Snivy was down for the count.“Timburr, Low Kick!” Trip called next, switching his Pokemon for the tanned fighting type that he had prevented Jonathon from catching himself. “Peck, then Crush Claw,” Jonathon countered, slowly turning to face the battle he was effortlessly winning. Combusken jumped over Timburr’s leg as he went to kick and instead came down from above, pecking the little fighting type hard on the head. As Timburr stumbled backward Combusken grabbed his arms with her clawed hands. Combusken shone a brilliant white light for a moment and then with an explosion of smoke and dust Timburr fell backward, his arms bruised and his body unmoving.“Vanillish, Ice Beam!” Trip attempted further, throwing his next Pokeball before Timburr had even dematerialized from the battlefield.“Oh come on!” Jonathon scoffed, “Combusken- Fire Spin,” “Vanill!” The Ice type Pokemon trilled as the flames engulfed it. Trip recalled his last Pokemon, scowling at Jonathon.“This isn’t over,” Trip warned.“No, it’ll be over when I finally lose it and lock you up!” Jonathon threatened. Trip glared at him angrily, for a brief moment a fearful look crossed his face, and then just as arrogant as ever the blonde boy turned and waltzed away, muttering some insidious remark as he did so. “That was amazing!’ Chilli cheered, “Who was he?”“Just some nasty piece of work,” Jonathon sighed, shaking his head as Trip faded into the distance, “Come on, let’s go.”

They had been walking for hours along the path when they stopped for lunch by a small river that ran through the grassy knolls of the forest. The path was just beyond a thicket of bushes and the pair of trainers lay out the picnic blanket Cress had packed in Chilli’s bag and sat down to eat. Chilli let Pansear and Lillipup out of their Pokeballs and so Jonathon took his Pokeballs from his belt and started to do the same. Wartortle, Grotle and Combusken immediately grouped together and went to sit by the river with Chilli’s Pansear. Joltik crawled up Jonathon’s back and perched herself on his shoulder while Lillipup lay down in the grass beside Chilli. Ralts, having just hatched from his egg, was still young and could barely walk, however Dunsparce gently scooped the baby Pokemon onto her back and floated in the air beside Jonathon. As they ate, Jonathon flicked through his Pokedex, asking Chilli about the different Unova Pokemon.“That’s a Maractus, they’re Desert Flower Pokemon, great for Stage Performances,” Chilli told Jonathon. “Kind of like my Gloom,” Jonathon smiled.“Gloom?” Chilli asked.“My Oddish, she evolved into a Gloom. She loves Pokemon Contests,”“Oh, I’ve heard of them. They only have one Annual Pokemon Contest in Unova, the rest of the time it’s Pokemon Musicals all year long,” Chilli beamed, “Maybe you could try your Gloom in a Musical?”“That might be fun,” Jonathon wondered, “Although I really need to get my hands on a Sun Stone, I promised Gloom I’d help her evolve... That was a long time ago. I guess I forgot what with all the Team Dimension dramas,”“You know, I bet Clay in Driftveil City has bucket loads of Sun Stones from all the mining he’s done,” Chilli said excitedly, “After Nacrene City maybe we can go out to Driftveil City... Although it’s a long walk from Nacrene,” “I’ve already been to Driftveil City,” Jonathon told Chilli.“What? When?” Chilli jumped.“Before I went to Nuvema Town, see-” And with that Jonathon opened his coat and showed Chilli the Driftveil City Gym Badge, shining next to the badges from Skyla of Mistralton and Chilli’s own badge from Striaton.“But then... how did you get from Driftveil City to Nuvema Town?” Chilli asked.“Clay gave me this Dunsparce,” Jonathon explained, and as he stroked his hand along Dunsparce’s smooth forehead he consulted the Pokedex.“According to this, Dunsparce can’t really fly very high, they just sort of hover above the ground,” Jonathon slowly read, “But this Dunsparce Clay gave me can fly above the houses, and she carried me most of the way to Nuvema Town,”“That’s because when Clay was mining out Clay’s Tunnel they found a secret cavern buried under Driftveil City, inside was a whole community of Pokemon infected with an ancient virus called the Pokerus,” Chilli began.“Infected!?” Jonathon stammered, looking at Dunsparce with a horrified expression. She appeared in perfect health, though as she had never battled with him Jonathon realized he had not yet taken her to a Pokemon Centre for a proper check-up.“It’s not a bad virus; it makes them stronger than the average Pokemon. That’s why Driftveil City Dunsparce can fly, they’re stronger than most,”“So My Dunsparce is infected with a virus that makes her stronger?” Jonathon clarified.“Yes... And by now most of your other Pokemon will have it too. It’s contagious, but it’s not unhealthy for them. It’s kind of a good thing,” Chilli reassured him. Jonathon stared at each of his Pokemon for a moment, each one looking perfectly normal. A wind rustled the bushes around them as they finished eating, listening to the babbling stream nearby.“Ralts!’ The Baby Pokemon cooed slowly, interrupting the near-silence of nature.“What was that?” Chilli asked suddenly, craning his neck to look behind him.“It was my Ralts,” Jonathon answered, but Chilli shook his head and raised his hand, listening to the bushes.“There’s nothing there,” Jonathon reiterated, but in the next moment the bushes burst apart and a little green Pokemon came barrelling toward them. Chilli was the first one on his feet.“Lillipup, Tackle!” He bellowed, and in one quick shot Lillipup darted over and knocked the Pokemon back. Jonathon took his chance to consult the Pokedex.“Petilil, a Grass type Pokemon,” It told him. “Pansear, Flame Burst!” Chilli continued. Pansear leaped into the air over Petilil and sent a cascade of flames bursting out and around the little grass type. With a shriek Petilil fell to the ground.“Pokeball, go!” Chilli cried, tossing an empty Pokeball at the new Pokemon, and in a few quick shakes, Petilil had been captured.“Nice work,” Jonathon smiled.“Thanks,” Chilli smiled back, “But after all that noise we should move on, the last thing we need is a group of Palpitoad ambushing us next. As the pair packed up and headed back to the road Jonathon consulted the Pokedex about Palpitoad. One thing was certain- he really didn’t know a thing about Unova.

It was nightfall when they finally arrived in Nacrene City. The buildings were old and beautiful; Jonathon smiled happily while Chilli pointed out the different landmarks as they strolled through the town. There was a Chapel, an old Theatre, shops, antique stores, an enormous Museum, and finally they arrived at the Pokemon Centre.“Hello,” The Nurse beamed as they approached the counter.“Hi... Wait a minute... Don’t I know you?” Jonathon asked sternly.“I’m Melody, I think we met in Driftveil, I’ve just been transferred here to Nacrene City,” She answered.“Of course,” Jonathon remembered, “How are you?”“I’m good, do you want me to take a look at your Pokemon?” She asked. The boys handed over their Pokemon and she set about scanning the Pokeballs with her machine.“Can you give mine a complete check-up, please?” Jonathon asked.“Sure,” Melody agreed, and she placed his Pokeballs on a tray where they slid along a belt into the next room. “So where do you think the Order of Unova agent will be?” Jonathon asked Chilli in a hushed voice.“In the morning we’ll try the Gym,” Chilli answered, “The Gym Leader might have some information,”“I didn’t see a Gym,” Jonathon wondered confused.“It’s in the Museum. They don’t accept many challengers,” Chilli explained.“All healthy, but your Pokemon have all got the Pokerus,” Melody interrupted, carrying the tray with Jonathon’s Pokeballs back to the counter. As Jonathon placed the Pokeballs back on his belt Nurse Melody rattled off a long description of the Pokerus Virus. Like Chilli had said it made the Pokemon a little stronger, for instance Dunsparce could fly higher than its uninfected counterpart, and Torchic had evolved rather quickly. As far as Jonathon was concerned this was a good thing, it meant he would be ready for Team Dimension sooner than he anticipated, but still- he was fast losing patience with Unova. He needed to start assembling the Trainers for his army to fight Team Dimension. It had taken him weeks to defeat Anna as a Gym Leader, now as a member of Team Dimension she would be even stronger. Not to mention Bekka and Tyler, two other very crafty trainers now in Team Dimension’s folds. And then there was Team Dimension’s leader, and the former leader of the Order of the Sky- Jackson, whom Jonathon didn’t know that he could ever defeat in battle. But most of all Jonathon was worried about battling his old high school buddy, the trainer who dragged him out on this adventure in the first place, the handsome and dashing Nick; Jonathon’s ex-boyfriend and the most challenging trainer he’d ever had to battle. Spying an advertising poster on the wall for the Pokemon World Tournament Jonathon realized it was a race against time to acquire the necessary badges to enter the tournament, impress the world’s greatest trainers, and then assemble a team to battle Team Dimension. The next few months would be the toughest test of his mettle and spirit.

Chilli pushed open the giant wooden doors of the Museum and the duo stepped inside, their Pokeballs glistening on their belts. Jonathon’s coat swirled around him as a strong wind rushed into the museum from outside.“Close those doors, kids,” A woman barked from the long shadowy hallways between the high shelves filled with books.“Sorry,” Chilli called, his voice echoing through the Museum. Jonathon had to confess it was more like a library than a Museum, there were rows and rows of books, huge tapestry’s hung on the walls, scrolls piled high in glass cabinets, and as they slowly strolled down the centre corridor between the shelves they both breathed a deep gasp as they saw the huge Dragon Pokemon skeleton hanging from the ceiling at the end of the large room. “Now that’s impressive!” Jonathon cried, a little too loudly.“You two aren’t really the Museum type, are you?” The woman’s voice snapped again, this time much closer than before. Jonathon spun on the spot and standing behind him was a large woman with dark skin, her hair flowed down her back and she was dressed in a motherly gown. “I’m Jonathon, from the Order of the Sky,” Jonathon told her.“Australia? Geez, you’re far from home,” She replied, “The name’s Lenora, and if I were you I’d keep that Order of the Sky business to yourself,”“He’s looking for the Order of Unova,” Chilli told her, but Lenora angrily hushed him.“Come with me, and keep your mouths shut!” She hissed, leading them over toward a large sealed door. She took a card from her pocket and held it against the door which slid open. The trio descended a spiralling stairwell, Lenora in the lead, until finally they stepped out into a large, very dark room. “Stay here,” Lenora told them, and then she took a few steps into the darkness and was gone.“This is kinda spooky,” Chilli said very quietly. Jonathon nodded slowly, squinting into the darkness for some sign of movement. His hand suddenly felt warm and he realized Chilli had reached out in the darkness and was holding it, their fingers intertwined for a moment, and then with a loud bang the room was flooded with light, Chilli dropped Jonathon’s hand and they looked up, far in the distance was Lenora, on the opposite side of what appeared to be a battlefield. “Here’s the deal, you beat me in battle and I’ll introduce you to a member of the Order, got it?” Lenora called to them.“I got this,” Jonathon told Chilli, taking a Pokeball form his belt, “Two on two okay?” Jonathon asked.“Two’s fine, let’s bring em out!” Lenora cackled, throwing her first Pokeball into the arena.“Combusken!”“Watchog!”“Fire Spin!” Jonathon ordered, and from across the battlefield Combusken fired a spiral of flames that swirled toward Watchog who waited until the last moment.“Now!” Lenora countered, and with that Watchog leaped through the flames and started to sprint toward Combusken. But after only a few quick steps Watchog stopped and dropped to its knee, clutching its arm. An ember flashed on Watchog’s arm and Jonathon smiled.“You shouldn’t have tried to dodge so expertly, Watchog’s got a Burn!” Jonathon teased Lenora, and while she was glaring at him he launched the next attack, “Quick Attack!”“Defense Curl!” Lenora defended, but it made no use, Combusken darted across the arena and slammed Watchog so hard the Pokemon was flung back toward Lenora.“Super Fang!” Lenora attempted next, but Jonathon was ready.“Double Kick!” He called, and as Watchog flew straight for Combusken Jonathon’s fire type fell backward onto her hands and kicked both her feet into Watchog’s incoming body. Watchog was sent airborne; it crashed into the ground and didn’t move.“Watchog, get back!” Lenora grumbled, “Stoutland!” “What is that?” Jonathon exclaimed, consulting the Pokedex.“It’s Lillipup’s final evolution,” Chilli interjected, “Normal type, very strong, but slow moving,”“Take Down!” Lenora bellowed.“Crush Claw,” Jonathon countered, “And then Fire Spin,”“Combus!” Combusken nodded, but as she grabbed onto Stoutland’s fur and prepared for the Crush Claw attack, Stoutland growled, startling her.“Bite it!” Lenora changed, and Stoutland seized its moment to duck forward and bite down hard on Combusken’s shoulder. Combusken let her grip loose and Lenora clapped her hands together hungrily.“Now, Take Down!” She repeated.“No!” Jonathon cried, but it was too late, Combusken was skidding along the battlefield, her eyes closed tight. “Combusken, take a rest,” Jonathon called, returning Combusken to her Pokeball.“What are you gonna do?” Chilli asked worriedly.“I’m not sure... She’s got power on her side... I need...” Jonathon thought hard for a moment about how he could counter Lenora and Stoutland’s brute force.“Come on trainer!” Lenora teased, “Time’s wasting,”“I need speed,” Jonathon smiled, “Joltik!” “Take Down!”“Electro Ball!”

Stoutland hurled its body at Joltik but the tiny bug darted to the side with ease, and then fired an Electro ball into Stoutland’s side. With a crash Stoutland fell to the floor, before it could get up Joltik sprayed it with a String Shot and then as she sailed overhead she fired an Electroweb that crackled and sparkled all over Stoutland’s fur.“Bug Bite!’ Jonathon finished, and Joltik scurried all over Stoutland’s big body, biting it all over.“Bite back!” Lenora cried, but Stoutland was too slow, Joltik scurried away before Stoutland had even bared its teeth.“Shadow Ball!” Lenora suddenly changed her tactics.“Electro Ball!” Jonathon challenged, and after mere seconds a shadowy purple sphere and a dazzling yellow orb collided in mid air, causing a massive explosion of smoke and lightning.“Again!” Lenora ordered.“Electroweb!” Jonathon decided instead.“That won’t work!” Chilli whispered frantically.“You’ll see,” Jonathon winked. As the Shadow Ball came hurtling toward Joltik the little bug sprayed stick web in front of her in all directions, electricity ran up and down the web but it lay on the floor underneath the attack, useless. Just as the Shadow Ball was moving at its fastest Jonathon made his move.“Now- up!” He yelled, and Joltik flattened herself on the ground but sent a single shot into the air where it clung to the roof of the arena. The web lifted from the ground, standing up like an electrified net. It collected the Shadow Ball and electrified it then sent the attack flying back at Stoutland at double the speed. Lenora had no time to react, Stoutland was struck hard in the face with the Shadow Ball, sparks and smoke swirled in all directions.“Now finish it off with a Signal Beam!” Jonathon smiled, and Joltik sent a beam of bright colours into the smoke where another explosion erupted, Stoutland had been defeated, and Lenora started to clap.“Great work,” She beamed, “That was really impressive. Not just turning my attack against me, but incorporating your own attack into it as well, and saving Signal Beam for the end... I can see why you’re in the Order...”“You’re pretty good yourself,” Jonathon complimented, but Lenora shook her head.“You are WAY out of my league, boy,” She laughed, “Like I promised, I’ll introduce you to the Order of Unova.”“Awesome!” Chilli cheered, and without thinking he hugged Jonathon. A few seconds later, rather awkwardly, he let go, and slunk back into the shadows as Lenora approached the pair. “I am a member of the Order of Unova,” Lenora announced, “I can help you.”

Beneath the stadium was another large room, but this one was filled with computers and large monitors. Lenora told them it was the Order of Unova’s Headquarters, and no one but the members of the Order knew of its existence. A map of Unova was lit up on the largest wall, marked on it were small grey circles in several places.“The Klink,” Jonathon noticed.“You’ve dealt with them I take it?” Lenora asked. Jonathon nodded,“They attacked Nuvema Town and destroyed the Radio Tower,” He told her.“We know,” Lenora answered, “All the members of the Order are out trying to figure it out now, I’m the only one still here.”“They’re being controlled by something; Professor Juniper told me they wouldn’t be this far from their natural habitat without cause. Something bought them to Nuvema Town and let them loose so they’d destroy the Radio Tower,” Jonathon speculated.“I agree, but who could do such a thing? You’d need an awful lot of trainers to command that many Klink in one group,” Lenora went on.“I don’t think that’s how they’re being controlled. Their actions were random. No one told them to attack, something, or someone, bought them to the Radio Tower and they attacked it because of the radio interference,” Jonathon replied.“Who? How?” Chilli wondered.“Magnets?” Lenora offered, but Jonathon shrugged. Suddenly an idea struck him.“Do you have any Klink? If I can send one back to my team they could analyse it and find out why they’d act this way,” He asked Lenora, but she shook her head.“All the Pokemon of the Order are in battle, like I told you before, everyone’s out trying to figure this mystery out,”“We’ll have to catch one,” Chilli told Jonathon, and Jonathon agreed. They would have to head back to Chargestone Cave, but first Jonathon needed Lenora’s help for something else.“Can we contact Australia form here?” He asked her.“Sure, we can even send and receive Pokemon,” She answered.“Yes!” Jonathon cried, “I need Flygon!”“Where are we calling?” Lenora asked, tapping away at a computer.“Adelburgh City, Police Headquarters,” Jonathon replied quickly, “Extension S1,” “Jonathon!” Sam screamed, her face lighting up the monitor in front of them. “Sam! It’s so good to see you!” Jonathon beamed, “We lost the Radio Tower in Nuvema Town, and the transfer went wrong, I ended up with Torchic instead of Flygon,”“I know, the signals were scrambled at the other end, there was some sort of interference,” Sam explained.“It’s okay, but I could really use Flygon now if you’ve got him on hand,” “Sure do, let me initiate the transfer, do you have a localized IP address?” Sam asked. Lenora stepped in and helped to set up the transfer sequence while Jonathon consulted his Pokemon party. “I’m gonna send you a female Dunsparce, I want you to study her carefully while she’s there, she has a virus called the Pokerus. It’s not dangerous, rather the opposite, it seems to make Pokemon stronger,” Jonathon told Sam. As he spoke his attention was drawn to a small glass cabinet against the wall. He looked inside and saw the different rocks and stones, each one labelled with a small brass plaque. There was a dazzling white stone, a dark, purple stone, a pale, shimmering stone that seemed to have a light inside, and in the far corner there was an orange stone with small spiked edges, and it was labelled the Sun Stone.“Sam, send Gloom first!” Jonathon suddenly called. Chilli stepped over toward him and looked into the glass cabinet.“Shiny Stone, Dusk Stone, Dawn Stone,” He read, “Oh wow, and a Sun Stone!” “Seeing this, now I know what to look for,” Jonathon nodded.“There’s more over here, look,” Chilli pointed, “Moon Stone, Fire Stone, Water Stone, Leaf Stone... Hey I’ve seen one of them before!” Jonathon remembered. He and Nincada had been in the park at Las Vista, they’d strayed into the forest and gotten lost. Deep in the thickest part was a large stone dais that was made of the same stone as the Leaf Stone in the glass cabinet. “I need a Fire Stone to evolve my Pansear, but first I want it to learn some more attacks. Mind you, the chances of ever finding a Fire Stone are pretty slim,” Chilli said.“Well, if you ever need a Leaf Stone I know where there’s plenty... but it’s all the way back in Australia,” Jonathon told him.“One day I’ll go to Australia,” Chilli smiled, “Hey look, there it is!” “Wow...” Jonathon breathed. He reached forward and flicked the lights and the other three walls of the room lit up like the wall that held the map of Unova. On each wall was a different series of continents. Between the two glass cabinets was Australia. To the North-East was Quistis, Jonathon’s home region. West of that were the Northern Deserts and Western Deserts. Below Quistis was Veronica, and below the Northern Deserts was Sathalia. Chilli’s eyes shone with excitement as he saw the cities and towns that Jonathon had visited.“Hey look! It even tells you what kind of Pokemon you can find there!” Chilli called; his voice shrill with excitement. He was reading the lists around the map now, each one detailing the Pokemon native to the different regions.“I want to go to Veronica!” Chilli whined, “They have Charmander and Chimchar and Growlithe... Houndour... Oh WOW! I’ve always wanted a Torkoal! I’d trade my left leg for a Torkoal!”“I’ve got a Torkoal,” Jonathon told Chilli.“Will you trade it?” Chilli begged; his eyes wide with excitement.“Sam, send me Torkoal as well,” Jonathon called out to the computer screen where Sam and Lenora were working internationally.“We’ve switched Gloom for Dunsparce already; who are you switching for Torkoal?” Sam asked. Jonathon looked to Chilli who took Lillipup’s Pokeball from his belt. Jonathon smiled.“It was your birthday last week wasn’t it Sam?” Jonathon asked.“Yeah,” Sam replied slowly.“I’m sending you a Birthday Present. I’m sure Skitty will be thrilled,” Jonathon grinned, tossing Lillipup’s Pokeball over to Lenora. She placed it on the desk inside a metallic ring and after a few key presses the ball lit up and shone for a moment.“Okay you’ve got Torkoal,” Sam announced, “What’s this one?”“A Happy Birthday,” Jonathon told her. She opened the Pokeball and Lillipup appeared, sitting on her desk. The little dog looked up at Sam curiously.“Oh he’s the cutest little thing I’ve ever seen!” Sam squealed, cuddling Lillipup so tight its little eyes bulged in its head. “Now if you can just send me Flygon for Ralts that should be it for transfers,” Jonathon continued.“Did Gardevoir’s egg hatch? Jonathon? Hello?” Sam’s picture faded into a static image and the audio crackled out.“No! It’s happening again!” Jonathon cried frantically.“The Klink! They’re here!” Lenora called.“Where’s the Radio Tower?” Jonathon asked her quickly, heading for the door.“On the roof of the museum,” Lenora explained, “We take these stairs all the way to the top,”“Wait for me!” Chilli yelled after them, scooping up Torkoal’s Pokeball from the desk and hurrying to catch them on the stairs. It was two flights just to get back to the ground floor, and then the trio had to rush up four more flights of stairs, as they opened the door they saw the huge Radio Tower swaying in the hurricane winds.“This doesn’t make sense, wild Klink shouldn’t be here!” Lenora shouted over the roar of the Klink. Hundreds of them were swirling around the building in a tornado formation, Supersonic attacks and Thundershocks were firing off in all directions. “Combusken!” Jonathon ordered, holding one hand over his face, the other holding Combusken’s Pokeball. He dared not throw it in this wind, “Fire Spin, take as many of them down as you can!” Jonathon told her, and as Combusken appeared in the wind she obliged, throwing her flames into the storm before her feet had even finished materializing.“Torkoal, Flamethrower!” Chilli commanded, and from his outstretched hand came Jonathon’s Torkoal, or rather now Chilli’s Torkoal. Torkoal didn’t waste a moment to see his new trainer, in the same flash that bought him from his Pokeball the well-trained giant tortoise sent a blast of flames into the Klink.“It’s no use, there’s too many!” Jonathon conceded, but before he recalled Combusken he saw two Klink carrying one of the burnt ones over the edge of the building.“Combusken, pick one off and bring it down!” He suddenly snapped, changing his tactic. Combusken waited, watching the swirling vortex closely. A piece of the roof lifted up and flew toward Lenora, Chilli jumped to knock her out of the way just in time. “Busken!” Combusken roared, and she jumped forward, latching onto a Klink with one arm and spraying her Fire Spin attack into its face in the next instance. Jonathon lobbed a Pokeball as hard as he could, it struck the Klink in Combusken’s hand and the ball fell to the rooftop, rolling toward the edge, another Klink shot out of the storm toward the Pokeball.“Combusken, cover me!” Jonathon shouted, diving for the Pokeball. The Klink was buried in a cascade of fire and retreated, leaving Jonathon to roll across the rooftop and scoop up the Pokeball.“Look out!” Lenora shrieked, Jonathon looked up and saw the Radio Tower teetering, with a loud crunch it started to slowly tip, the poles and wires growing larger as the entire Tower fell closer and closer. With another loud bang the last support cables snapped, and Jonathon fell into the shadow of the falling Radio Tower, Chilli and Lenora’s screams a distant echo in the storm.

Loud explosions rang in his ears from every direction, bright lights and sparks burst from the falling Tower, Jonathon didn’t have time to move, just watch the tower crumbling over him as he held the Pokeball in his hand. He was knocked to the ground by an explosion near his waist and he hit his head. Lying on his back on the rooftop, the storm of Klink circling around him, he wondered for a moment if this was the end. His vision was obscured b the falling Tower, growing larger as it came down upon him. It was only seconds that passed in what felt like the hours that he lay there, awaiting the painful crushing of the hundreds of tonnes of metal, the thousands of volts of electricity, and the sharp spikes of the Tower’s many antennae. Suddenly he thought of Wartortle, his face beaming down at him, a steely look of determination in his eyes. Wartortle was dragging him away, away past Torkoal and Combusken who were still attacking the Klink storm, away past Ralts who was floating in the air, an eerie pink glow surrounding him. Wartortle dropped Jonathon beside Chilli who knelt down and held him, his face wet with tears.“I thought you were gonna... I thought...” But Chilli couldn’t say it. Still dazed and confused, Jonathon looked to his side and saw Grotle and Gloom, holding the Tower steady with their Vine Whip Attacks, Joltik doing the same with her String Shot. All of his Pokemon had broken free of their Pokeballs to save him, and now, as the Tower hung in his Pokémon’s care, the Klink began to dissipate. In seconds the swirling vortex of silver and grey was gone, a mere cloud swirling away into the sky. Gloom and Grotle lifted the Tower back upright as Joltik sprayed the exposed cables with her sticky web. The tower stopped sparking and smoking, but Lenora shook her head.“That Radio Tower isn’t anything more than an ugly weathervane now,” She sighed, “But we can fix it. It’ll take time though, guess you won’t be getting your Flygon buddy,”“That’s okay,” Jonathon panted, climbing to his feet, “As long as we’re all safe,”“Safe and sound, you saved my life, kid!” She bellowed, slapping Chilli hard on the back.“And I caught a Klink, so as soon as the Tower is fixed we can send it to Sam and run an analysis,” Jonathon remembered.“I think it’ll be quicker if you go to Nimbasa City and send Klink back to Sam from there. I won’t be able to send out for repairs on the Radio Tower, without it I can’t send out for anything!” Lenora explained.“We’ll send someone from Nimbasa to come fix it,” Chilli offered.“That’d be great, I’ll give you this guy’s business card inside, he’s over there working on the fun park at the moment,” Lenora nodded, “Let’s get back inside,”“Do you guys mind?” Jonathon asked his Pokemon, and with a unanimous cry Wartortle, Grotle, Combusken, Gloom, Joltik and Ralts burst into dazzling lights and swirled around the rooftop, back into their Pokeballs on Jonathon’s belt. Chilli returned Torkoal and the trio headed down the stairs. Back in the underground headquarters Lenora handed Chilli the details of the man who would fix the Radio Tower.“He’ll be hanging out near the Ferris Wheel when he’s not busy,” She told him.“I can’t take this Klink with me,” Jonathon suddenly realized, still holding the Pokeball in his hand.“I know what to do!” Lenora called, turning to a computer and tapping away momentarily. After a minute or so she unplugged a small rectangular device from the computer.“If you flip this gadget open it works like a phone, we call it a X-Transceiver. You can call anyone in Unova, but more than that, when you call me here in Nacrene City you can transfer Pokemon from our storage vault to your party and vice versa. Leave that Klink here and I’ll look after it, just give me a call and I’ll send it to you through the X-Transceiver,” Lenora explained, handing Jonathon the X-Transceiver.“Thankyou so much for all your help,” Jonathon said, shaking his head, “I don’t know what we would have done if we hadn’t found you,”“Hold your thanks, I’m not finished yet,” Lenora smiled. She walked across the room to a cabinet, then over to another, and then came back to the pair of trainers.“You want to get stronger don’t you?” She asked with a smile handing each of the boys something wrapped in tissue paper. As Jonathon unwrapped the bundle he almost choked on his own breath. He and Chilli exchanged shocked glances for a moment before turning back to Lenora.“I don’t know what to say,” Jonathon stuttered.“Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou!” Chilli repeated.“You boys just promise me you’ll get to the bottom of all this Klink business,” Lenora winked, “Now, off to Nimbasa City, both of you! And make sure you send that repairman back here pronto!”

The next day the sun was shining, the Pidove were chirping as they flew overhead, and a pair of Patrat were following Jonathon and Chilli along the winding road out of Nacrene City. They were funny little Pokemon, scurrying along quickly until they were close, and then stopping and hiding in the bushes, one of them occasionally popping its head up to look ahead and see where the trainers were. Jonathon was reading about them on his Pokedex. As he had thought they were the pre-evolution of Watchog and usually quite friendly. “Do you wanna catch these Patrat?” He asked Chilli.“Nah, they eat too much. We catch one today and we’ll be out of berries by morning,” Chilli answered, not glancing up from the map he was consulting.“How about those Pidove, if we evolve them we might be able to fly to Nimbasa City,” Jonathon continued.“It takes too long to train Pidove, you can’t really fly far with them until they’re at their second stage evolution,” Chilli rebutted.“I guess we’ll just walk,” Jonathon resigned.“Oh no...” Chilli moaned.“What?” Jonathon asked.“No, this is not good,” Chilli went on.“What is it?” Jonathon pressed.“We have to go through Castelia City before we can get to Nimbasa,” Chilli wept.“What’s wrong with that?” Jonathon queried.“Castelia City is horrible. It’s huge and it’s full of concrete and huge buildings... and the sewers smell,” Chilli complained.“Hey, I know Castelia! I saw it when I was flying to Nuvema Town; it’s the one with all the skyscrapers, yeah?” Jonathon wondered.“Yeah, that sounds like it,” Chilli replied sadly.“It’ll be fun, we can spend the day in the city, we’ll be sophisticated,” Jonathon teased.“You’ll see, Castelia is a horrible place,” Chilli warned. Both trainers looked up from the map and saw the mighty bridge before them.“What’s this?” Jonathon asked.“It’s the Sky Arrow Bridge, this will lead straight over the ocean to Castelia City,” Chilli told him. “I bet the view is amazing, come on!” Jonathon cried happily, he grabbed Chilli’s hand and ran ahead, pulling him along. They ran up the stairs around and around until they stepped onto the bridge. “Wow!” Jonathon exclaimed. It really was beautiful, the sun was glistening over the ocean, down below they could see all kinds of ocean Pokemon in the crystal clear waters, a huge shadow emerged from the depths and a great big blue Wailord poked itself out from the sea.“This is incredible!” Jonathon smiled. As they crossed the bridge they each took turns pointing out different Pokemon, Jonathon kept looking them up on his Pokedex. A trio of Ducklett flew overhead, the pre-evolution of Swanna, and perched high up on the archways of the bridge was a big green snake-Pokemon, coiled around the concrete pillar gazing out to the horizon.“That’s a Serperior, they’re pretty rare to find in the wild,” Chilli told Jonathon.“Wow, look- Kabuto! They’re all extinct in Australia!” Jonathon cried, pointing down at the sea below where five Kabuto were gliding along the water’s surface. “The only surviving Kabuto live very deep in the ocean, they come to the surface for their breeding season once a year,” Chilli explained. They were halfway across the bridge when Jonathon suddenly stopped. He looked back and then forward, nodding to himself. “This is the perfect spot,” He said to himself. “For what? Lunch?” Chilli asked. “No, for this,” He said, and Jonathon reach into the inside pocket of his coat and took out the tissue paper parcel Lenora had given him. In his other hand he took a Pokeball from his belt and tossed it onto the bridge. Gloom appeared in a blaze of light.“Hello, beautiful,” Jonathon grinned. Gloom did a pirouette and then bowed gracefully.“I have a surprise for you. Here we’re exactly halfway across the bridge. Halfway on our journey. I know I promised you this a long time ago,” He told her, and Gloom looked up at him thoughtfully, cocking her head to the side.“Gloom, this is for you,” He said, handing her the tissue paper. She slowly unwrapped the parcel and as her eyes widened the parcel shone with a brilliant white light, Jonathon and Chilli squinted into the brightness until it burned their eyes, they held their arms up in front of their faces for a long moment before the light began to fade. As it subsided Gloom was gone, and a beautiful Bellossom sparkled in the sun, the flowers on her head twirling. “Bell! Bell!” She cooed, and she ran forward and hugged Jonathon’s legs. He reached down and stroked her head. “A promise is a promise,” He told her, and Bellossom, with a glinting tear in her eye, nudged her Pokeball and disappeared inside.“You’re so sweet,” Chilli smirked. “And you’re adorable,” Jonathon shot back. He reached out and took Chilli’s hand again and they ran the rest of the way across the bridge.If the run across Sky Arrow Bridge hadn’t taken their breath away the sight of Castelia City in the midday sun certainly would have. Chilli was right; it was both enormous and very grey. On the waterfront were several docks with large boats and barges, a few cheeky Wailmer were bobbing up out of the water and spraying the sailors on the piers with water as they loaded cargo onto the ships. They passed by a storm drain on their way to the Pokemon Centre and in the shadowy muck they could hear the distinct gurgling of Grimer, sloshing about in the city sewers. As they went to step into the Pokemon Centre a shape moved on the tall building beside it. At first it was just blurs and distortion, and then in another second, as though emerging from the pattern of brickwork on the wall itself a Porygon shifted out of the wall, changing colours as it floated over the trainer’s heads and then sank down onto the road, and then into the road. It turned its head entirely around and looked at Jonathon and Chilli as it sank away below the road and into the ground, all while changing into the same colour as the road itself.“This place is amazing!” Jonathon beamed to Chilli, but Chilli had a sour look on his face.“It’s not so special,” He scowled.

“Jonathon!” Nurse Melody cheered, “It’s so good to see you again,” “What are you doing here? Weren’t you just transferred to Nacrene City?” Jonathon asked. “I’m always being transferred, I’m a temp,” She winked. After checking over their Pokemon Nurse Melody suggested they tour the four main streets of Castelia City, and much to Chilli’s disdain Jonathon set off, first dragging them down a street filled with markets and vendors. There was a man selling Ice Cream with a huge crowd outside his stall, then further along was a cafe with a unique song emanating from within. At the top of the street was a small garden square with street performers dancing and singing all around. There were so many sights to see, Jonathon didn’t know which way to look. “Let’s go down this street next,” Chilli pleaded, leading Jonathon down a dark alleyway. There were bins and garbage bags littered all over the walkway. “Okay, this is gross,” Jonathon grimaced. “I told you this place is foul,” Chilli sneered.“Hey, what’s going on up there?” Jonathon whispered. Chilli followed his gaze. Up ahead were two seedy looking men huddled by a bin, they were talking in low voices and passing something between their bags. Jonathon puffed up his chest.“What’s going on here?” He bellowed, stepping up to the two men. They both looked at him in surprise and alarm. “Nothin, nothin’s goin’ on,” The uglier of the two said. The other man looked at Jonathon and Chilli for a moment and then turned and ran away down the alley. “It looks like something’s going on,” Jonathon told the remaining man. He made a whimpering sound and then tried to run also, but Jonathon grabbed his arm. The man squirmed his way free of Jonathon’s grip but as he ran he dropped a Pokeball. Jonathon picked it up and his heart sank. He recognized the Pokeball. “That looks like a Snag Ball, the Order of Unova use them to catch Pokemon that belong to bad Trainers, or to reclaim stolen Pokemon from thieves,” Chilli said. “It’s similar, but this is actually a Restrain Ball, it’s used to capture Pokemon that belong to other trainers, they use these to steal trainer’s Pokemon,” Jonathon explained. “Is it empty?” Chili asked quietly. “No,” Jonathon told him sadly.

They stood on the harbour of Castelia City, the wind blowing their hair about, Jonathon’s coattails catching in the billows and flailing about behind them. The sunlight glistened off the water as a pink fish jumped from the sea and splashed about in the golden sun before falling back into the ocean below. “You’ve got Lenora,” Lenora answered on her X-Transceiver. “Lenora, it’s Jonathon, how’s things?” Jonathon asked, holding the X-Transceiver to his ear.“Good, though I’m guessing it’s a little too soon for you to be calling from Nimbasa,” Lenora replied with a laugh, “What’s come up?”“Do you know about Restraint Balls?” Jonathon asked her with a deep breath.“Yeah, it’s a sad day when a scientist invents a tool for stealing,” Lenora sighed, “Have you got one?”“Yep, just confiscated it from a pair of thugs in a dark alley,” Jonathon explained.“Thugs... Dark alley… You must be in Castelia City,” Lenora clued on. Chilli scoffed from beside Jonathon, listening intently to the conversation. “How do I send this to you?” Jonathon asked Lenora.“In your settings tab there should be a Ball setting,” Lenora began. As She set about teaching Jonathon how to transfer the Restraint Ball to her Chilli looked around at the different ships sailing in and out of the harbor. A Luxury Cruise Liner was being loaded with food and wine, not too far from that sat a smaller ship, one where the Captain and his First mate looked over an old map on the deck. Out in the water, yet to dock, was a large, spiked ship with huge sails and a sinister appearance.“Got it!” Jonathon chimed as the Restraint Ball disintegrated in his hand, a small stream of glittery powder falling to the ground. “I’ve got it here… Wow! Okay, I’ll be in touch as soon as I’ve run some tests,” Lenora promised, in another moment she was gone. “Well that was a pleasant side-quest,” Chilli smiled, “Should we head for Nimbasa City now?”“Yeah, should be straight up this way,” Jonathon said, leading Chilli up one of the main streets, away from the busy dock. “Wait, I think it’s this way,” Chilli pleaded, suddenly steering Jonathon toward a different street.“No, look on the sign, Nimbasa City is through the North Exit, this street leads to the North Exit,” Jonathon insisted. He turned Chilli back to the street he had aimed them on.“There’s a café over there though, I really wanted to check it out,” Chilli bargained.“What are you playing at?” Jonathon grinned, taking Chilli’s hand and dragging him up the road. “Oh YES!” Jonathon cried, “YES! YES! YES!”“No,” Chilli mourned quietly. “The badge is mine!” Jonathon snarled, lunging at the stairs to the Castelia City Gym. “No, please, Jonathon, he’s a horrible, nasty piece of work, let’s just go straight to Nimbasa,” Chilli begged, but Jonathon was already standing at the doorway to the Gym when the shiny doors slid apart and there before Jonathon was a boy with huge, bushy hair. He had a green shirt with a pink collar, and green checkered tight pants. Around his neck was a lilac scarf and his eyes sparkled as he looked Jonathon up and down. “Welcome to the Castelia City Gym,” He said a little too enthusiastically. “I’m Jonathon,” Jonathon introduced himself.“And I am Burgh, the artistic Gym Leader of Castelia City,” Burgh boasted, “In fact, around Unova I am known among the Gym Leaders as he most creative, the most elegant, even the most charming of all the Leaders,” “I bet you’re humble too,” Jonathon laughed. “Humility is a virtue,” Burgh said wistfully, gazing up into the sunlight. Chilli was muttering something under his breath that Jonathon couldn’t hear; instead he followed Burgh into the Gym and down a long corridor filled with random, amateur paintings. Some looked like they had been done by children, while others, though lacking in skill, had a strange attraction to them, despite the messes of paint and disregard for order. As they made their way deeper and deeper into the Gym the paintings started to change, Jonathon noticed they were gradually getting better, he could discern what they were now: Pokemon. Bug Pokemon, to be precise, “These are my life’s work, I have painted since I was very young,” Burgh smiled. “Wow,” Jonathon breathed as they passed a picture of a Leavanny, darting through the canopy of a thick forest. The detail took his breath away. Finally they reached the end of the long corridor where there was a huge painting over the dead end.“Ummm?” Jonathon started, “Did you take a wrong turn?”“No, no,” Burgh scolded, “Look at the masterpiece!” He insisted. Jonathon sighed, regretting taking an interest in the art before, for now he feared he would have to endure a guided tour of Burgh’s Private Gallery before he could have a Gym Battle. Perhaps it was a secret Gym Leader technique to put the opponent and their Pokemon to sleep before the match? The painting reached to the ceiling, it was of a large tree, the soft light made the beams of sunlight filtering in through the forest canopy seem to sparkle. As Jonathon looked closer he saw the little Pokemon, all Bug Pokemon, they were playing around the tree, Caterpie and Sewaddle, and others he didn’t recognize. As Jonathon leaned closer the light fell across the rest of the painting and he saw the Vespiquen hovering in the lower branches of the tree. Its wings actually looked like they were fluttering. The light grew brighter for a moment and Jonathon realized they were fluttering. He reached forward and placed his hand on the painting, it was real. He looked over his shoulder but Burgh had disappeared. He looked back at the painting and the Vespiquen had moved. Jonathon yelped and jumped back as it faced him through the painting. Fear engulfed him, he froze as the Vespiquen grew larger and larger in the picture, flying at him, the light growing brighter and brighter. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t think, the Vespiquen let out a buzzing roar and raised an arm. With one quick slash it tore the painting asunder and flew into the corridor, lunging at Jonathon. Jonathon threw himself against the wall and smacked a Pokeball from his belt as Vespiquen flew past him. Before Vespiquen could turn around Jonathon backed down the corridor toward the torn painting, Combusken appearing between he and Vespiquen. “Combusken, Ember!” Jonathon panted, catching his breath. Combusken coughed up a barrage of embers and they sprayed toward Vespiquen. Before they struck Vespiquen suddenly turned, and Jonathon and Combusken were suddenly struck with that same bright light as earlier, he didn’t know which way was which, his head was ringing, Jonathon cried the first thing that came to mind. “Peck!” He yelled, shielding his eyes with his arms. Combusken couldn’t see, but instinctively she lunged forward, striking Vespiquen in the middle with her beak. Vespiquen buzzed and growled, fluttering backward through the air.“Now, Ember!” Jonathon followed, and Combusken covered Vespiquen in burning embers. For a moment Vespiquen lay on the floor, smoking and withering, but after a moment a small piece of what Jonathon had thought to be ash started wafting through the air sporadically. Then another, soon there were dozens of tiny little dots buzzing and whirring through the air. They swirled and reared, clumping in a group, and then they shot toward Jonathon and Combusken with a buzzing roar.“RUN!” Jonathon bellowed, and he and Combusken turned and ran through the torn painting into a large battlefield, at the other end of which stood Burgh, impatiently tapping his foot. “Heal Order!” He called as Jonathon and Combusken stopped at their end of the battlefield. “What the hell was that?” Jonathon shouted at Burgh, but the Gym Leader just laughed.“This is a Gym Battle, it’s not meant to be easy,” Burgh drawled with a wink. “Ugh,” Jonathon moaned. “X-Scissor!” Burgh yelled. Jonathon looked at the battlefield for a Pokemon, but there were none. Before he had a chance to remember he heard that familiar buzzing noise, Jonathon turned to the torn painting, he put his hand on Combusken’s shoulder.“Wait for it, just trust me, okay,” He whispered. Combusken nodded so slightly Burgh didn’t notice. Vespiquen came flying through the hole in the wall with pieces of the painting wrapped around it and a glowing X blazing in front if its outstretched claws. “DUCK!” Jonathon yelled, and he and Combusken fell to the ground as Vespiquen and the piercing attack sailed over their heads.“Sky Uppercut!” Jonathon followed, and in a flash Combusken was underneath Vespiquen, slamming it in the middle with a hard punch. Combusken let out a cry and sent Vespiquen flying up into the air, over the battlefield.“Vespiquen, fly, use your wings!” Burgh frantically ordered, but Vespiquen was tumbling and twisting through the air, limp and lifeless. It crashed into a heap in front of Burgh. Jonathon watched closely, the wings fluttered twice. They fluttered again, and it opened its glowing red eyes. “Heal ord-” Burgh tried, but Jonathon already knew. “Ember!” He roared. Combusken sprinted toward Vespiquen, her arms hanging behind her, leaning forward as she ran to spray embers directly in front of her. Vespiquen shrieked as the embers started to hit, the smoke billowed upward, Burgh grabbed the Pokeball from his belt.“Return!” He called.“So how many Pokemon are we using?” Jonathon asked as Burgh quickly snatched his next Pokeball up and held it to his face. “I’ve got six, and I don’t mind using all of them if that’s what it takes to beat you!” Burgh screamed, beads of sweat pouring across his brow.“Oh my,” Jonathon gasped, he gave Combusken a worried look, “Careful buddy, I think this guy’s nuts,”“Let’s do this!!” Burgh bellowed, hurling his Pokeball into the arena.“Combusken, get ready,” Jonathon smiled, leaning down and cracking his fingers, “We got this!”

Lukas Davidoff was one of the many Gym Leaders in France, he was also an honorary member of the Order of the Sky in Australia after having been rescued from Team Dimension by Jean. The last time he had seen Jonathon was just after Jean’s funeral, in Adelburgh City of Sathalia. Now he was soaring high above the Kalos Region, a small section of France known for its exotic Pokemon. There had long been myths about the Legendary Pokemon of Kalos, but only in the last few weeks had scientists made startling discoveries. “Talonflame, bring us down on the roof of the Gym,” He told his Bird Pokemon with a gentle pat on the neck. Talonflame screeched and curved her flight path. They descended over the huge tower until Talonflame swooped along the Gym’s Battlefield and reared up near the large wrought iron chair. Lukas jumped from her back and landed on the metal floor with a loud, echoing clang. Talonflame circled his head. “Good girl,” He smiled, returning her to his Pokeball. “Lukas,” Someone called. Lukas turned around and saw his aged assistant hurrying over, “This trainer insisted on battling the moment you returned,” “Of course, Herbert, show them in,” Lukas replied.“I’m afraid, they are already in,” Herbert croaked uncomfortably, surreptitiously nodding toward the large steeple in the center of the battlefield behind him. Lukas dropped into the chair and slowly shifted his gaze up to the highest point of the Gym. Clinging to the topmost part of the tall spire was a young trainer, a bright spark in his eyes, and a little Chespin hanging from his shoulder. “HYA!!!” Bellowed the trainer as he dropped down to the floor. He crouched as he landed and Chespin rolled off to the side, leaping up into a battle pose and spitting out what looked like an acorn to the side. “Alright trainer, welcome to my Gym! Battle up!” Lukas cheered, climbing to his feet and taking a Pokeball from his belt.

“Combusken, jump around it!” Jonathon cried, darting to the side to get a better look at Burgh’s Pokemon. He consulted the Pokedex quickly, his eyes flickering back up to the battle as Combusken jumped this way and that, dodging the sharp stabs of Escavalier’s Fury Attack. “Hyper Beam!” Burgh roared, twirling on the spot and pointing dramatically at Combusken, who had landed a good few meters away from Escavalier.“Combusken, Ember, quick!” Jonathon countered. Escavalier leaned backward and then shot forward, firing a golden, blazing beam of light at Combusken, flames and embers went spraying in all directions as the Hyper Beam cut through Combusken’s defense.“More embers Combusken!” Jonathon tried, but the Hyper Beam was about to strike her down. Suddenly an eruption of flames split the Hyper Beam through the middle for a moment, Jonathon dared not look away to check his Pokedex, but he was certain it would tell him this was Flamethrower. The Flamethrower and Hyper Beam held each other in the middle of the arena for a few moments and then they exploded, sending dust and smoke everywhere. “Escavalier, recharge for another one!” Burgh scathed, sweat dripping down his forehead. His foundation was running, and Jonathon beamed, he knew what to do.“Flamethrower while it’s charging power, do it, Combusken!” He cheered, and Combusken leapt into the air and blasted Escavalier with a Flamethrower. “No!” Burgh squealed, but as the smoke cleared Escavalier was lying in the dirt, motionless. “Combusken, take a rest,” Jonathon snapped suddenly, recalling Combusken to her Pokeball. “This will finish you,” Burgh sulked, taking another Pokeball from his belt. “I doubt it,” Jonathon chuckled as Burgh’s next Pokemon appeared in the arena. “Crustle!” It grunted, waving its arms at him angrily. “I don’t need to check the Pokedex to know what’ll take you down,” Jonathon smiled, taking Wartortle’s Pokeball from his belt. “Sandstorm, my darling!” Burgh cheered. He reached into his trouser pockets and threw glittering confetti into the air as Crustle made a swirling vortex of sand erupt from the slab on its back. “Wartortle, Water Pulse!” Jonathon ordered, and as Wartortle appeared on the battlefield he commando-rolled to the side, looking up only briefly to launch a shimmering ring of water at Crustle. The sand made its way around the entire arena, obscuring Jonathon’s view of the battle. “Now, Earthquake my love!” Burgh called, and from somewhere inside the sandstorm Crustle let out a roar and the ground began to shake. Jonathon had to think quick, he needed to stop the sandstorm, but how? Wartortle couldn’t alter the weather, at least, not specifically…. An idea was forming, but he would need to be careful not to let Burgh figure out what he was up to. How in-sync could he and Wartortle be when they couldn’t see each other? Jonathon had a sudden flashback, he remembered the Night Gym in the Quistis Region. The whole Gym was pitch black, and he and Squirtle couldn’t see their opponents. It was Squirtle’s Hidden Power that had shown him the way to victory then, but that would be no use here. He would need to make it rain, and rain a lot. “Wartortle, Water Gun!” Jonathon ordered.“Ha! No Hydro Pump?” Burgh teased, “Rock Blast!”“Wartortle, keep using Water Gun, but dodge it!”“Keep firing!” Burgh laughed.“Dance around the battlefield, keep using Water Gun, you’ll hit it eventually!” Jonathon called. The sandstorm swirled and roared, but the silhouettes of the battling Pokemon were slowly reappearing, a drop of water landed on Jonathon’s cheek, and as he brushed it off he smiled. The ground was becoming muddy and wet, puddles were forming everywhere.“Now, Wartortle, Hydro Pump!” Jonathon bellowed. “Crustle, hide in the sandstorm!” Burgh laughed, “You silly boy, you can’t even see my Pokemon, how can you hope to strike it down?” But within the fading sandstorm Wartortle leapt into the air and pulled his head into his shell, he flipped in the air and blasted the ground with a powerful barrage of water, the mud and slop flew in all directions, Jonathon quickly pulled his coat up over his head and shielded himself from the muddy water that washed over him. As he peered back over to the battlefield he saw the mud and water taking over, the sandstorm was gone, replaced by mud and filth all over the Gym. Burgh was caked in mud, he held his arms out to his side and opened his mouth, horrified.“My clothes… m-my DESIGNER clothes!!” He whimpered. Jonathon scoffed,“Wartortle, Hydro Pump!” He snapped, and without a second’s delay Wartortle blasted Crustle with a jet of frothing water. Crustle slid across the floor and stopped next to Burgh, out for the count. Burgh took a Pokeball from his belt and with the other hand wiped the mud from his eyes.“You know… At first I thought you were cute,” He said quietly, his voice shaking, “I was even going to take you to Café Sonata when this was all done,”“Sorry, but you’re not my type,” Jonathon interrupted as Wartortle looked from the Gym Leader to his Trainer with a bemused expression. “Oh believe me,” Burgh scathed, “That offer is off the table! Masquerain let’s go!”“Wartortle, on your guard!” Jonathon quickly commanded, waiting for Burgh’s next Pokemon to appear, “You look familiar,” He muttered, raising his Pokedex, “Hey buddy, duck into your shell for a minute, let’s see what he’s got,” “Charge up for Solarbeam!” Burgh ordered.“On second thoughts,” Jonathon choked, fumbling to lift Wartortle’s Pokeball, “Wartortle, switch out!” “So who’s going to take this attack then? The longer you wait, the stronger its gonna get!” Burgh cackled. Masquerain slowly beat its wings as it hovered in the air, a glowing, golden sphere swirling over its head, growing larger with each passing moment. “Joltik, Electroweb!” Jonathon shouted as he hurled the Pokeball into the arena.“Masquerain, Solarbeam!” Burgh countered. Joltik appeared, spraying crackling web in all directions and Masquerain flew forward, the golden sphere suddenly erupting and sending a rolling beam of solar energy at Joltik. “Make a web!” Jonathon called, but Joltik was already almost finished constructing her defense, a huge web sparkling with electricity was now strung up in front of her and the Solarbeam. The entire web exploded with a dazzling light as the Solarbeam struck it, the outer cords snapped, and the Solarbeam was wrapped in the electrified web, slowing down, but gaining an added effect; it was now charged with Joltik’s electricity.“Protect!” Jonathon told her, and Joltik obliged without question, a buzzing wall of electricity shot up in front of her, it solidified and as the Electro-Solarbeam struck the barrier its eerie glow intensified, and then the attack rebounded, flying at Masquerain, the flying bug Pokemon was startled for a moment, but Burgh intervened.“Two can play at that game, Masquerain- protect!” And a much similar barrier materialized before Masquerain, this one silver. The Electro-Solarbeam was deflected again, this time it went skyward and with a huge explosion it gouged a hole in the roof, pieces of debris and bolts of lightning rained down on the battlefield, a huge chunk of the roof landed beside Jonathon spraying his coat with mud and dirt for the second time in the battle. “Look what you’ve done to my Gym!” Burgh shrieked, his hair matted with mud and a tear in his sleeve. “All’s fair in love, war and Pokemon Battles,” Jonathon teased. “Air Slash!” Burgh snapped suddenly.“Use your Agility to dodge it!” Jonathon cried, and with a buzz Joltik scuttled away with Masquerain sweeping through the air behind her. “Another Air Slash!” Burgh called after the first one missed.“Jump!” Jonathon suddenly decided, and Joltik leapt clear over Masquerain’s body as Masquerain dove for the ground, its wings outstretched.“Electro Ball!” Jonathon shouted, but Burgh was ready-“Double Team!” And with that, in a flutter of Masquerain’s wings, there were three of them. Joltik landed on the ground and looked at the three Masquerain circling her slowly. Jonathon didn’t know what to do; his eyes flickered to the Pokedex in his hand. There were still a few attacks he hadn’t tried with Joltik, but was this the time to be testing them out? “Air Slash!” Burgh cried, and the Masquerain dove as one, six wings blazing with energy.“Joltik, Discharge!” Jonathon cried, and in a flash there was a ring of electrical energy spiraling out from Joltik, two of the Masquerain disappeared as they were struck, the last one shrieked and fluttered backward, dropping low enough to the ground for Joltik to pounce on its back.“Another Discharge!” Jonathon cheered.“No! My Masquerain!” Burgh wailed, but as the sparks faded Masquerain was in the air, twirling over and over and Joltik was holding on with its tiny fangs. “Ha!” Burgh gloated, “Now to get rid of you, Whirlwind my pretty!” Burgh cackled. Masquerain began to beat its wings as it swirled around in the sky, the wind was getting intense, mud was flying up off the ground again, Jonathon covered his face with his arm as the dirt stung his eyes. Joltik suddenly exploded into a dazzling white light, it flew across the battlefield, back to Jonathon’s belt where one of his Pokeballs snapped open and Joltik disappeared inside, on the other side of his belt, Combusken’s Pokeball opened and with another swirling blaze of light Combusken was standing in the arena again, scratched and bruised but ready for battle. “And now to take out your fighting type with some flying type attacks! Masquerain, Aerial Ace!” Burgh commanded, and before Jonathon could counter Masquerain was pounding its wings into Combusken, who tried to block with her arms. “Back to back, keep it going!” Burgh called, and Masquerain continued to barrage Combusken with the attacks. For a moment Jonathon was caught up in the moment, he didn’t know what to do, and Combusken was getting hurt.‘Wait a minute,’ He thought to himself, ‘It’s a flying type, but it’s also bound to be a bug type too so…”“Flamethrower!” Jonathon ordered, and while Masquerain was just inches from Combusken’s face she let out a raging flamethrower that engulfed Burgh’s Pokemon. “Crush Claw!” Jonathon followed, and Combusken leapt into the fire and with both feet slammed Masquerain into the ground. Standing over Masquerain, pinning it to the ground with her feet, Combusken spat one last ember attack onto Masquerain.“Return, my lovely!” Burgh wept, it was impossible to tell if the wet on his face was sweat or tears, “You’re Combusken is horrible!” “My Combusken is evolving!” Jonathon gasped, and he was right. Combusken’s body changed, its legs grew longer, her arms grew stronger, she grew a main of white feathers from her head that parted and fell down on either side. “Blaze!” Blaziken roared.“This isn’t fair!” Burgh sulked, holding up his last two Pokeballs. “Come on, I’ve nearly won!” Jonathon cooed, checking the Pokedex about his new Pokemon. “Durant, Metal Sound!” Burgh hollered as he threw his next Pokeball. All of a sudden there was a loud shrieking noise, it was so loud it hurt, Jonathon dropped to his knees, clutching his ears, his whole head felt like it was going to explode.“Blaziken!” He called, but Blaziken couldn’t hear him, she too was on her knees, holding her ears, and now Burgh was saying something, but Jonathon couldn’t tell what, his eyes were even starting to throb, the whole arena was shimmering in the screeching noise, and then suddenly it stopped-“Vicegrip!”“BLAAAZE!” Blaziken cried. Durant had made its way over to Blaziken and had her leg in its pincers, “Punch it!” Jonathon ordered, and Blaziken pounded a fist on Durant’s head. It made a loud echoing clang.“Ha! My Durant is as hard as steel! Watch this- Durant, Iron Defense,” Burgh boasted, and Durant’s body shone like silver and became even sturdier still, “Vicegrip again!”“Blaziken, shake it off!” Jonathon tried, and Blaziken lifted her leg and shook but Durant was holding on, slowly biting down harder and harder.“Oh my gosh, I’m doing it again!” Jonathon said loudly, exasperated at his own absent-mindedness. Burgh looked at him curiously.“Do you always talk to yourself?” He asked.“Actually yeah, a lot,” Jonathon laughed, Burgh smiled back.“Me too, the other Gym Leaders think I’m nutty,” Burgh confessed. For a moment they stared at each other, and Jonathon could see why Burgh was so conceited. He wasn’t unattractive, in fact he was considerably good-looking. But the moment quickly passed when Jonathon remembered how long he’d been stuck in this Gym battling this emotional loon. He was melodramatic and Jonathon was getting very bored very quickly.“Sorry Burgh, but I think you’re nutty too,” Jonathon told him plainly, “Now Blaziken, Blaze Kick!”“Noooooooo!” Burgh screamed, but Blaziken’s leg, with Durant still clinging to it, erupted into flames and Blaziken leapt into the air spinning, she booted Durant through the air, over to the wall behind Burgh where it crashed and slowly slid down the wall, its legs twitching while smoke poured from its body.“Durant come back!” Burgh grumbled, returning Durant to its Pokeball. “Just one left?” Jonathon asked with a sly smile.“Don’t switch, I want to face your Blaziken with my strongest Pokemon, I raised this from an egg,”“Okay, but we’re on a roll, dude,” Jonathon chuckled, and Blaziken turned and gave him a wink. “Leavanny, centre point!” Burgh shouted, and with a flash and a scattering of leaves a beautiful grass and bug type Pokemon appeared in the arena, spinning gracefully on the spot and bowing serenely. “Ready?” Jonathon asked.“Let’s finish this!”

“Leaf Blade!” Burgh shouted, sending Leavanny darting across the battlefield toward Blaziken.“Fire Punch!” Jonathon countered, and Blaziken swung a wide, blazing fist through the air, deflecting Leavanny and her glowing green scythes. “Razor Leaf!” “Fire Spin!” Jonathon changed his tactic, and a swirl of flames quickly circled through Leavanny’s Razor Leaf attack, devouring the green leaves and then exploding as it struck Leavanny. The flames engulfed Brugh’s Pokemon, and whenever they appeared to be petering out they would suddenly roar back to life. Jonathon smirked,“Now Blaziken, distract them with Mach Punch!” Jonathon called, and Blaziken darted around Leavanny, punching the air, sometimes scoring a direct hit, but keeping Leavanny on the move while the Fire Spin kept slowly wittling away.“Enough of this!” Burgh screamed.“I agree- Blaze Kick!” Jonathon finished, and before Burgh could argue a defense Blaziken had lunged forward and struck Leavanny with a fiery Blaze Kick. Leavanny was out for the count. “Congratulations…” Burgh moaned, looking humiliated.“Just be grateful you didn’t have an audience.” Jonathon winked. Burgh grumbled something as he took a key from his pocket. “As required, I give you this Gym’s Badge as proof of your victory,” Burgh said pointedly as he led Jonathon to a section of the wall where a keyhole was carved. Burgh turned the key and a cupboard opened, inside of which were several badges. There was one toward the back that was unlike the other green ones. Burgh handed Jonathon a green badge, explaining that it was the Hive Badge. “What’s that Purple one?” Jonathon asked.“Oh… There was a time when I was often going away on nature walks, to get inspiration for my art… That Badge belonged to another Gym Leader who served here once. She tried to turn the Gym into a Bug and Poison type Gym, Bug types are strong warriors enough without needing the effect of Poison,” Burgh waffled on, “You wouldn’t believe how she redecorated,” Burgh scoffed.“What did she do?” Jonathon asked with a grin. “Oh- WELL! She tore down all the grass and silk…” Burgh turned away and started pointing at the battlefield, explaining how the former Gym Leader had tried to redecorate, and while he wasn’t looking Jonathon grabbed the Purple Badge.

It had taken awhile for Burgh to explain all the poor decorating choices of the other Gym Leader. Jonathon finally escaped when his X-Transceiver rang. Before he could answer it, the ringing stopped, but he was already stepping out onto the street, so Jonathon took his exit from Burgh’s Gym and walked away as quickly as possible. Chilli had been right, Burgh was pretty horrible. But now, as Jonathon wandered up and down the street where he’d left Chilli, Jonathon was starting to wonder where his new travel buddy had disappeared to. It was Chilli who had been calling on the X-Transceiver, but he was not answering Jonathon’s calls now. Regardless, he had to go to the Pokemon Centre to heal his Pokemon, so Jonathon continued his search there. “Jonathon!” Melody smiled, “How did your Gym Battle go?” “Burgh put me through the paces, six on six!” Jonathon told her, dropping all his Pokeballs onto the tray, “But I got it,” He winked, opening his coat so Melody could see his badges pinned to the inside of the coat. The Badges from Skyla, Clay, Chilli and his brothers, Lenora, and now Burgh were lined up neatly.“Do you know where this Gym Leader is?” Jonathon asked Melody, taking the purple badge out of his pocket.“Ahhh, this belongs to Roxie from Virbank City,” Melody told him, “She filled in for Burgh once, he wasn’t happy,” “I know, she redecorated,” Jonathon laughed, “That Burgh sure is a piece of work,” “Did he show you his paintings?” Melody asked.“Yep,” Jonathon groaned. “Oh, I almost forgot, Chilli came through looking for you, he said he was going to wait on the Desert Road, to the North,” Melody said suddenly. “Thanks,” Jonathon replied, taking his Pokeballs from Melody as she handed them over. “Unless you wanted to take a boat over to Virbank City and challenge Roxie,” Melody suggested. “No, I’ll go and find Chilli first, the poor dear’s been waiting all through my battle,” Jonathon smiled. “Oh what’s another couple of hours, go challenge Roxie, Chilli’s probably having a great time in the Desert with all those Fire Type Pokemon,” Melody insisted, but Jonathon refused, he headed North for the Desert Road where he hoped to find Chilli.

“Well this is not what I had in mind,” Jonathon said to Wartortle as the pair stepped out onto the Desert Road. The Road wound this way and that for a few meters but then faded into the swirling sands. It seemed no matter which way they looked there was sand for miles in every direction. Wartortle rubbed the dust from his eyes, he was obviously uncomfortable so Jonathon returned him to his Pokeball. He wondered for a moment who might enjoy the stroll through the warm sun, and just before settling on Blaziken, he saw the Blue and Red Great Ball that Nick had given Jonathon with which to catch an Oddish many years ago. “Bellossom!” Jonathon called, throwing the Pokeball into the sand. Pink and White flower petals swirled everywhere, and then a blazing flash on sunlight shone across her body as Bellossom appeared, slowly pivoting as she landed in the Desert sands.“Bell!” She chirped. “Hey girl, fancy a walk in the sun?” Jonathon asked her. Bellossom looked ecstatic, together the pair followed the path until it disappeared and then they just kept walking, sometimes the sand was up to their knees, other times they were walking on sand as hard as rock. During a particularly deep patch of sand Jonathon could have sworn something brushed past his leg. He looked over to Bellossom who was looking down at the sand with a worried expression, her flower-ears twitched. “MARACTUS!” Another voice gurgled, and the sand began to move around them, a spiky plant came up out of the ground, Bellossom jumped into the air and spun her petals, hovering for a moment, then firing a barrage of Razor Leaves.“Bellossom, it’s sleeping!” Jonathon realized quickly. And Bellossom fell backward, stopping her attack. “Mara…” The Pokemon moaned, and Jonathon was right, the Maractus was asleep. Together Bellossom and Jonathon crept away. A few minutes further along they encopuntered another Pokemon, one that wasn’t asleep!“Sandile!” The little ground Pokemon barked. “Now you can use your Razor Leaf,” Jonathon told Bellossom. Sandile was easily defeated, but it burrowed away into the ground before Jonathon could catch it. As they walked through the desert both Trainer and Pokemon were amazed by the new sights they saw. Little Bug and Rock type Pokemon called Dwebble scurried around carrying large rocks on their backs, a giant Crustle (much bigger than Burgh’s) lifted itself out of the desert to watch them pass by. It wasn’t long before they were standing atop a rather large sand dune looking at the desert that surrounded them in all directions.“No sign of Chilli yet,” Jonathon pondered, “When in doubt, head North,” He smiled, and Bellossom agreed. They continued North until another Sandile blocked their path. “Sandile!” The little Pokemon growled. “Bellossom, Razor Leaf,” Jonathon almost yawned, but this Sandile dodged the attack by launching itself skyward and then it bit down hard on Bellossom’s dress. Bellossom shrieked and began to run in circles trying to shake it off.“Vine Whip!” Jonathon laughed, and with a crack Bellossom slapped Sandile from her dress. The Sandile rolled through the sand and then burrowed underneath.“I don’t think that’s the last of it,” Jonathon warned Bellossom, and sure enough, Sandile came leaping out of the sand and used Assurance to knock Bellossom backward. “You like Dark Type attacks do you?” Jonathon teased, “Bellossom, Acid!”“Dile!” Sandile croaked, and with a flurry of sand it burrowed underground again. Jonathon started digging through the pouch he kept inside his cloak. “Bellossom, use Sweet Scent,” Jonathon told her while he searched for a particular item he thought Sandile might be fond of. “Bell!” Bellossom scoffed as Sandile sprayed her with a Sand Attack. “Hey Sandile, what do you think of these?” Jonathon asked, tossing a pair of Dark Sunglasses into the sand. The glasses were engulfed in a dust cloud for a moment and then disappeared, as Sandile reemerged from the sand it was wearing them. “Pretty fancy, huh?” Jonathon commented, “They’ll help boost your Dark type attacks,”“Bellossom!” Bellossom snapped, flicking Sandile with a Vine Whip. “Hey, that wasn’t very nice, Bellossom,” Jonathon scolded, but Bellossom was angry, she kept slapping Sandile back with her Vine Whip attacks until finally Sandile, with Jonathon’s glasses and all, burrowed underground and didn’t return. “Well now look what you’ve done, I wanted to capture that Sandile,” Jonathon told Bellossom, but she was so proud of herself for having defeated the Sandile she barely heard him. As they kept walking, Bellossom started to dance and sway, sending sand flying like glitter on a Contest Stage. It had been awhile since Jonathon and Bellossom had entered a Pokemon Contest, they had won a few when she was a Gloom. But whether or not the Unova Region had any Pokemon Contests for them to enter remained to be seen. “Maractus!” Screeched a wild Pokemon suddenly. “Acid!” Jonathon yelled, leaping to the side as sand flew everywhere. It was the same Maractus as earlier, Jonathon was sure of it; he recognized the pink and yellow flowers. “Bell!” Bellossom coughed, sending a spray of acid over Maractus. Maractus retaliated with a Pin Missile barrage, Bellossom tried to block with her Vine Whip attack but the attack still knocked her back a ways. “Petal Dance!” Jonathon ordered, and Bellossom began to spin. The sand flew up and engulfed her, but only for a moment before pink petals filled the swirling brown vortex that Bellossom was inside, in a flurry the dust and petals swirled over and around Maractus, but when the attack subsided Maractus was nowhere to be seen. “Looks like its gone…” Jonathon said slowly, he glanced down at his Pokedex, “He… looks like he’s gone,” He read. The Pokedex filled him in on the wild Maractus, it was a hardy Pokemon that survived well in limited-water regions, like the desert. They would certainly flourish in the deserts outside of Isamine City. Up ahead was a large rock next to a dying tree, Jonathon thought it would be the perfect spot to stop for lunch. While he let Bellossom drink some of his water and eat some berries Jonathon called Lenora on the X-Transceiver. “Howdy, howdy!” She barked, cheerful as ever. “Lenora, it’s Jonathon, I’m in the Deserts North of Castelia,” He told her. “I can see that, I’ve been watching your progress on the virtual map here at HQ,” Lenora explained, Jonathon had to remind himself that the Order of Unova were just as well-equipped as his own Headquarters back in Adelburgh City in the Sathalia Region of Australia. “We still don’t have any Global Link Comms up and running, any idea how long you’ll be training in the Desert? We really need that repair crew from Nimbasa,” Lenora went on, “Yours is the only X-Transceiver I can connect with because I’ve synced yours to my own,” “Sorry, I’ve lost Chilli,” Jonathon explained, “The Nurse at Castelia told me he went on ahead,”“I’ll bounce a scan off your X-Transceiver to see if he’s nearby you, hold on,” Lenora offered.“You better call me back, I’ve got a wild Pokemon here,” Jonathon told her quickly as the sand a few feet in front of he and Bellossom’s shady rock started to waft up in clouds. “Bellossom, Vine Whip!” Jonathon called as he slid the X-Transceiver into his coat pocket, “Now Acid!”“Mara!” Maractus hollered, poking his head out of the sand just in time to be both slapped by vines and then doused in acid. The sand flew everywhere and Maractus was suddenly airborne, waving his arms furiously at Bellossom who shrugged the sand off her dress and then fired a Razor Leaf attack.“Good work, now defend with Vine Whip,” Jonathon ordered as Maractus fired more Pin Missile attacks. Bellossom knocked them aside and then with a second’s pause she fired a Solarbeam that send Maractus spinning away into the air. “Nice one!” Jonathon cheered, reaching down to give Bellossom a high-five, “I forgot you could use Solarbeam!”“Jonathon?” Lenora’s voice cracked from the X-Transceiver in his pocket.“Yeah, Lenora?” He fumbled, digging out the device.“Chilli isn’t anywhere in a hundred yards of you, maybe he’s waiting at the entrance to Nimbasa City?” Lenora told Jonathon. “That doesn’t sound like him… He’s never really travelled on his own, I’m getting a little worried,” Jonathon confessed. “I hate to be the voice of reason, but I really need you to get to Nimbasa City, I need those Repairmen,” Lenora pleaded.“Okay, okay, I’m on it, we’ll double-time to Nimbasa, I’ll call you once we’re there,” Jonathon promised. “Thanks, lovey,” Lenora beamed. “Don’t mention it,” Jonathon finished, hanging up the X-Transceiver. “Maractus!!” Screeched their unofficial travel companion. “Bellossom, Acid,” Jonathon quickly ordered, and Bellossom leapt up in front of Maractus and sprayed him with purple acid. “Maractus?” Maractus asked, batting his eyes sweetly at Bellossom. Bellossom pulled a face and slapped Maractus with a Vine Whip, but that didn’t stop Maractus, he bounced right back up and sprayed a sweet smelling aroma everywhere.“Bellossom, I think he likes you,” Jonathon started to realize. Bellossom looked outraged, she exploded with Razor Leaves that hung in the air around her, her face turned bright red and with a second flurry of pink petals the entire Leaf Storm blasted Maractus into the dirt, skidding away, spraying sand in the air like a giant wave. Jonathon’s quick reflexes snatched an empty Pokeball from his belt and he hurled it into the air. It sailed over the sand dune, along with Maractus. Jonathon jumped with excitement and sprinted toward the drop in the sand where they had disappeared to while Bellossom shrieked with anger and a moment later scurried off after him. Jonathon tripped in the soft sand and fell, sliding to the edge on his stomach. As he peered over the edge he saw Maractus lying in the sand next to his empty Pokeball. Maractus was looking at Pokeball, and then, as if sensing Jonathon’s presence, he grinned and tapped the Pokeball with his arm. The Ball exploded and Maractus disappeared inside, it trembled for a few moments, disturbing the nearby sand, and then as Jonathon stepped close enough to reach down and pick it up the ball stood still. In his hands it disintegrated into nothing, transported back to Lenora. “Alright, great work Bellossom!” Jonathon cried, and as he turned her Vine Whip attack slapped him across the face.

“Bellossom, please, I didn’t mean to! It was reflexes!” He begged, but Bellossom marched toward him, her vines reaching out to slap him across the face with every step she took.“Bellossom, I’m sorry,” He tried, much softer. Bellossom paused for a moment. “You’re my most beautiful Pokemon,” He told her. She blushed, and then a moment later she was smiling. “Razor Leaf, behind you!” Jonathon screamed, Bellossom turned, but it was too late, a giant ball of flames engulfed her, and then she was sailing through the air, right into Jonathon’s arms. He caught her and clutched her to his chest with one arm, with the other he threw Wartortle’s Pokeball at the fireball as it came at him now. The fireball exploded in front of Jonathon’s face and Wartortle was suddenly there, looking at Jonathon, his face set. “Iron Tail?” Jonathon asked. Wartortle grinned and with a loud crash he pushed backward, his silver flashing tail sweeping the sand with a loud gush. The fireball dissipated into a tiny little red Pokemon. Jonathon checked his Pokedex quickly.“Wartortle, confuse it with Bubblebeam for a second,” Jonathon called. Wartortle looked shocked for a second, then a little insulted. He could destroy the little Fire Pokemon in an instant, but with a sigh Wartortle let out a stream of Bubbles in a jet that surrounded the Pokemon. “Darumaka… Wartortle, Can you do Water Pulse?” Jonathon asked.‘Can I do Water Pulse?!’ Wartortle thought resentfully, with a growl he barked and sent a shimmering ring of water at the Darumaka that sent the bubbles flying away and then crushed the Darumaka into the sand. Jonathon threw a Pokeball, much to Wartortle’s dismay, and after a few seconds the ball was in his hands, dissolving into thin air. Suddenly, Jonathon remembered Bellossom, still cradled under his arm, her body no longer as warm as it once was.“Back into your balls,” Jonathon told Wartortle and Bellossom, and they both disappeared. Jonathon looked around, and much to his surprise, he could see a building not far ahead. He started to run, ignoring the burning sensation on his forehead that felt like sunburn. His feet were aching by the time he reached the building, but as it grew nearer he laughed. It was the Nimbasa City entrance, he ran faster, with renewed vigor, sprinting as fast as he could, until sand exploded up into his face, blocking his path. It was a Sandile, screaming and throwing sand everywhere. Before Jonathon could react, Wartortle was appearing, blasting it away with a Hydro Pump. Two more Sandile appeared further ahead, then more appeared behind them, it was a nest, or a hoarde, or an outbreak, Jonathon didn’t know, but they were surrounded.“Keep firing!” Jonathon screamed. Wartortle laughed for a second, shooting Jonathon a wicked grin, and then he exploded with water in all directions, Hydro Pump, Water Pulse, Bubblebeam, Wartortle kept blasting while Jonathon slowly pushed forward, through the sand. Ahead he saw a high dune, leading up out of the semi-valley he’d mistakenly wandered into.“This way!” Jonathon yelled, pointing toward the rise. With Wartortle spinning around him, blasting water in all directions, Jonathon was quickly climbing the hill. Suddenly, ahead, something stood out from the others. It was a different color, something unusual. Jonathon stopped and stared for a minute, his eyes adjusted to the swirling sands, and he found it, sitting a little further up, a different colored Sandile. He looked in his bag and found what he was looking for.“You’re a Dark Type… It’s not Dark though… I know!” Jonathon realized, turning to Wartortle as he spun around behind him, “Hidden Power!”

The Sky turned dark, Jonathon throw a shimmering green Dusk Ball into the swirling sand, Wartortle’s eyes turned black and purple, shimmering purple orbs appeared, spinning around Wartortle as he floated in the air, a twisted snarl on his face. The light returned and the shimmering orbs blasted out in all directions, sending Sandile flying away everywhere. The Dusk Ball rolled down the hill and Jonathon scooped it up as it went to pass, it faded away before he had a chance to look it over. He thought to call Lenora right away, but then remembered about the entrance just ahead, and Bellossom. He ran up the hill, Wartortle behind him, and as he reached the top he saw other people. He was safe, with a sigh of relief he tanked Wartortle and returned him to his Pokeball, and then he strolled through the big glass doorways into the Nimbasa City Entrance.

Jonathon had now bumped into her so many times he had to consider Nurse Melody a close friend, for she had, as usual, been transferred to Nimbasa City. Jonathon didn't find it odd, he remembered his friend Danyl from Las Vista in the Quistis Region of Australia who was also a Nurse at the Pokemon Centre, and he too was often transferred to wherever help was needed. She quickly healed his Pokemon and then suggested he try battling at the Nimbasa City Pokemon Gym.“I really need to find Chilli,” Jonathon told her, “Have you seen him?”“No, honey, I thought you would meet up with him in the Desert,” Melody sighed, “Oh dear,”“I’ll have a look for him, first I need to take care of some business,” Jonathon dismissed quickly, and he grabbed up his Pokeballs and went outside, searching his wallet for the Repairmen’s business card that Lenora had given him. He quickly found the address on the main street so he headed into the city. There were a lot of dressed up teenagers around. Although, Jonathon had to admit, as he saw more of the inhabitants of Nimbasa City it seemed to be a very fashion-conscious city. Suddenly Jonathon realized he looked completely out of place in his black combat suit and navy blue cloak. He looked to his left and saw a clothes shop, and taking his wallet out again, he went inside.

He stuffed his old clothes into the white backpack with black trim that he had bought. Jonathon smiled as he slung it over his shoulders and saw himself in the mirror. He had a white collared t-shirt with a white and brown striped vest over the top, his jeans were the palest of blues, and he had white and brown converse, squeaky clean- for now. He headed into the street and breathed a sigh of relief, no longer the odd one out. Just ahead were Lenora’s repairmen, a little old shack that had been well restored into an inviting shop-front. As soon as Jonathon told them what had happened they closed the shop and left in a hurry, so Jonathon called Lenora.“Thanks heaps, darl,” She beamed, “You’re an angel!”“Did you get my Pokemon?” Jonathon asked.“Let’s see… Sandile… Darumaka… Maractus... Is that them?” She asked.“Yeah, cool, just checking their safe,” Jonathon reassured her.“Oh they’re safe, honey,” Lenora promised. “Can you bounce a scan off me and see if Chilli’s anywhere nearby?” Jonathon asked quietly. “I’m on it, hold on,” She answered quickly, tapping away at the keyboard next to her. “Can you check with his brothers, but don’t let on he’s missing… they’ll kill me,” Jonathon added.“He’s at the Gym,” Lenora said simply. Jonathon was already running down the road, then two blocks to the right, and across the amusement park, he already knew the way to the Gym, it had become second instinct to him now. But the Gym, he would find, was closed. He stood, staring at the sign, dumbfounded. Perhaps Chilli was inside on some secret Gym Leader business? He was still trying to make sense of this when someone started screaming his name. The girl continued to scream until she was right next to him. Finally Jonathon jumped from his thoughts and turned, seeing Hannah from Las Vista.

Jonathon had met Hannah at a Pokemon Contest in Las Vista. Jonathon remembered watching her egg hatch into a Charmander. She was Jean’s cousin, or sister, or maybe her best friend, Jonathon couldn’t remember, he pushed the memories of Jean from his mind.“Hannah!” Jonathon cried. “It’s so good to see you! It’s been years! Are you here for the Pokemon Musical?” She asked Jonathon in a rush.“Musical? What?” Jonathon Stammered. “Oh, it’s about to start, there’s not enough time to explain, come with me, you’ll love it!” She gushed, grabbing Jonathon’s arm and dragging him away. For a moment he glanced back at the Gym, to where Lenora had tracked Chilli’s X-Transceiver. “Get your Badge Case out, the three Trainers with the most Badges get to compete in the Musical against the Gym Leader, Elesa,” Hannah whispered to Jonathon as she ushered him into a large, dark tent. The long hallway inside was lit with tiny lights. Smoke was wafting around their feet as they, along with dozens of others were slowly making their way toward the end of the hallway where a man was checking the entrants, sending them all to the left. Rather suddenly he pointed the first Trainer to the right. Jonathon and Hannah were the last in the line. “I don’t think we’re going to make it through, having the eight Badges of Unova must give you an automatic qualification,” Hannah whispered to Jonathon.“What do we do? Is it like a Contest?” Jonathon whispered back. “Sort of. Just don’t do anything too explosive. Follow the story, and try to make it look beautiful,” Hannah explained as they stepped up to the man.“I know just who to use,” Jonathon smiled. “I’m Hannah, and I’ve got Seven Unova Gym Badges, as well as eight from Quistis and eight from Veronica,”“Where are they?” The man asked as he looked over Hannah’s Badge Case.“Australia,” Jonathon and Hannah answered in unison, both with a grin.“It’s where it’s all going down,” Jonathon boasted, with a wink to the man. He looked Jonathon up and down and grinned. “Alright Aussieboy, what have you got?” The man asked Jonathon.“I was gonna use my Bellossom, how many Pokemon do we need?”“No, I mean Badges, what have you got? You need at least eight to even be considered,”“Oh, right, well, I’ve got five from Unova, and eight from Quistis, as well as some from Veronica, oh, and I have four from Sathalia, and I have the Tower Badge from my Gym Leader friend in the Kalos Region, that’s in France,” Jonathon beamed, digging out his Badge Case to show off all the shiny Badges.“Gee, you’ve been all over the world, haven’t you?” The man laughed.“Haven’t been to Hoenn yet,” Jonathon chuckled back. “Oh my parents said they’re taking me next year, I’m so excited!” Hannah interrupted. “Oh wow! Hoenn would be amazing! I caught a Torchic on Southern Island, and I just kept thinking to myself I could jump on my Flygon and be in Hoenn by morning,” Jonathon rattled.“Ah! Why didn’t you? That would’ve been epic!” Hannah asked. “I had a lot of work to do,” Jonathon answered glumly.“Saving the world?” Hannah wondered. “Just a little,” Jonathon laughed.“Okay, so you guys are both competing today, just head down that hallway and the costumiers will tell you everything you need to know. Whatever you do though…” The man interrupted and then paused. He leaned in closely and whispered the last warning to Hannah and Jonathon so quietly, only they could hear it. “Whatever you do, please do not defeat Elesa.”

The costumiers were all young women, each one looking their own kind of spectacular. Hannah had been snatched up by a bossy, red-headed girl that reminded Jonathon of his own red-headed best friend back in Australia, Sam. Before he had a chance to see what Pokemon she was using, another girl wearing yellows and greens with long blonde hair obstructed Jonathon’s view. “Hi, I’m Danni! You must be Jonathon, I’ll be helping to dress up your Pokemon for the Musical,” She introduced herself. “Nice to meet you, I was thinking of entering my Bellossom,” Jonathon told her, lifting up Bellossom’s Great Ball. It slid apart in his hands and with a quiet explosion of light Bellossom appeared on the floor between them. Danni fussed over Bellossom, touching her flowers and primping her petals all while a Leavanny in the corner of the room sat creating outfits from translucent silks, spinning the web into fabric in her arms. “Leavanny, can you please make a pretty dress for Bellossom to wear over her own dress?” Danni asked. Leavanny nodded and her arms started moving faster, flashing in different shades of green as she wove the fabric. All of a sudden Leavanny stood and threw the dress into the air, it gracefully floated down over Bellossom and all of a sudden Bellossom looked like a Princess. It gathered in all the right places, and it flowed and swirled as she moved in the dressing room. “Now we need a pretty tiara,” Danni added, her tongue sticking out from the side of her mouth. “Bellossom, you look beautiful,” Jonathon told her. Bellossom twirled in the mirror, shocked by her own beauty. “Now, Bellossom will be playing the Princess in the story, change into these blacks and give directions from behind the screen. You’ll be able to see her and the audience but they won’t be able to see you. Bellossom will be able to hear al your commands though. Try to stay in character, try to keep with the story and the flow, ultimately it comes down to the audience and judges to decide, but if you get the opportunity…” Danni trailed off, “Please don’t beat Elesa,”“Five Minute Call,” Came a booming announcements, “trainers and Pokemon to the wings please,”“Make sure you change, break a leg!” Danni said, and she waved goodbye to Leavanny and was gone.“Wait, where are the wings?” Jonathon asked, but Danni was gone. He turned to Leavanny who pointed solemnly to the doorway on her right. “Thanks,” Jonathon smiled. Leavanny nodded off to sleep before Jonathon had even started to change. Before long he was dresses in all black and creeping down the hallway behind Bellossom, dressed up like a Princess. “Accessories!” Danni was suddenly whispering, appearing out of the shadows like a ghost. She handed Bellossom a scepter and then hung a necklace around her neck. She put tiny little silk gloves on Bellossom’s little hands and then clipped flowery earrings to her ears. “Makeup!” Another girl whispered next, squatting down in front of Bellossom and dabbing rouge on her cheeks, then lipstick, and finally using mascara to give Bellossom long, luxurious eyelashes.“This is your entry, stick to the script! The Narrator will tell the story, just do what they say! Action in Five! Four!” And the makeup girl only mouthed the next three numbers in the countdown and then the lights flooded the stage. Bellossom stepped into the wing but waited. Jonathon stepped behind the screen as the Musical begun. “Audinoooooooo,” Sang the chorus, a warbling hoard of Audino that made their way across the stage slowly as they sang in canon, the Narrator spoke over their singing.“Once upon a time in a far away kingdom there lived a wise, ruling King,” The Narrator read, and on their cue the other trainer Jonathon had seen earlier stepped behind the screen as his Slowking stood out on the stage, his golden crown glistening under the stage lights. With a long red cape, the Slowking bowed gracefully, the audience clapped, and then with a hissing sound Slowking looked up, its eyes flashing with an eerie blue light. The audience clapped louder, though somewhat robotically. “And he had the most beautiful daughter in all the lands, she was the Royal Princess,” The Narrator continued. Jonathon followed Bellossom onstage, unseen behind the screen upon which a colorful backdrop was projected. Bellossom twirled on the spot and poised, curtseying graciously. She let out a soft, warm note, singing her name gently, before a dozen different colors of smoke gushed out from beneath her. Jonathon looked closely through the screen. She was using Poisonpowder, Stun Spore and Sleep Powders together to make the colored smoke. It was spectacular. “Now use your Sweet Scent,” Jonathon added in a whisper. Bellossom started spinning on the spot, sending the coloured smoke up around her, and then a glowing, sparkling white powder streamed out from Bellossom and joined the smoke. The colors burst all across the stage, sparkling and shining everywhere, and the audience were roaring and cheering. The applause was louder than anything Jonathon had ever heard; he beamed, but stayed behind the screen."But an evil Witch had come upon the land,” The Narrator interrupted, and a hundred tiny bolts of lightning streaked across the stage, vaporizing Bellossom’s colored smoke in an instant. Smoke billowed out over the stage, washing over the audience. The loud, echoing thuds of footsteps echoed over teh theater and as though it emerged from the shadows, a Zebstrika, its body flashing with electricity, appeared on the stage. "The Evil Witch kidnapped the Princess and took her to her castle," The Narrator went on, and without another word the Zebstrika stomped its front hooves down on the floor, sending a wave of paralyzing thunder over Bellossom, she dropped and Zebstrika caught her, lifting her up with its mouth and placing her in a small wooden cge that slowly wheeled itself onto the stage."The King was devastated," The Narrator continued, and Slowking fired a Water Gun attack into the air that showered down like a depressing rainfall. "And so he sent the bravest Knight in all the kingdom to fight the Evil Witch," "Charmander!" Hannah's Charmander bellowed, leaping onto the stage with a sword and a helmet. "Smokescreen!" Hannah whispered from behind the screen, and Charmander coughed black smoke all over the stage."Now, clear it up with Fire Spin!" Hannah followed, and Charmander spun, sending flames licking through the smokescreen until a great black spiral of smoke with flashing flames swirled around the stage."Iron Tail!" Hannah finished, and with a loud slam Charmander smashed the twister with his glowing tail, the attack exploded and light and smoke wafted everywhere."The Witch and the Knight would battle for many days," The Narrator drawled, and suddenly Zebstrika was centrestage, sending great rings of electricity discharging in all directions. Charmander jumped over the first wave but didn't have time to spring back up before the second, so instead the little Fire-Lizard burped a pile of embers just in time to block the attack. "Forget Discharge, use Wild Charge!" Elesa snapped from behind the screen. Jonathon had only just noticed her. She was beautiful, but something about her didn't seem quite right. Her nose was pointed, her eyes set, her grin a steely wise of determination. Something about her gave Jonathon the creeps. Zebstrika reered and sprinted across the stage, its body pulsing with lightning, Charmander jumped though, and in the air he sent a stream of Flamethrower down to wash over Zebstrika from above. "In the last moments of an intense battle, the King and Princess would be reunited," The Narrator drawled, and on cue Charmander landed in the dirt, knelt, and shot a cascade of flames over Zebstrika's head to the wooden cage where Bellossom was trapped. As the cage burned, Slowking rushed across the stage behind Zebstrika, who was now trying to stomp Charmander with its steely hooves but the little Pokemon was too quick, darting between Zebstrika's feet with ease. Slowking put the fire out and from the wreckage of the cage emerged Bellossom, her dress spinning so she levitated slightly as she floated out of the smoke. Her shawl flapped and flickered in the wind and a smattering of pink petals wafted from her as she landed on the stage gently. "Almost defeated, the Witch would place a curse on the Kingdom that would last for all eternity," The Narrator threatened, and Zebstrika started to glow, crackling bolts fo electricity coursing all over its body. "Solarbeam!" Jonathon told Bellossom, and at the same time he heard Hannah whispering; "Flamethrower," "Hydro Pump!" The Slowking's trainer chimed in. Zebstrika roared and a huge blast of lightning erupted from its head, shooting into the ceiling of the theater, smoke and sparks rained down on the audience and stage, but as one Bellossom, Slowking and Charmander fired their attacks into the center of the stage where they surrounded Zebstrika. For a moment the stage was silent, and then Zebstrika exploded and water, fire, smoke and steam swirled everywhere. The pillar of lightning let go of Zebstrika and started to lash about, breaking apart and sending bolts of Thunder into the stage and curtains, lights began to fall from the proscenium, small fires were appearing around the Pokemon onstage."Water Gun!" Slowking's trainer called, and Slowking began to put out the fires. "Charmander?" Hannah called, coughing through the smoke. Jonathon looked through the screen, squinting against the smoke. He couldn't see Charmander either. "Zaaaaaaab!" Zebstrika hollered, bucking around, smashing its hooves through the stage floor on every kick. "Bellossom, calm Zebstrika down with Sleep Powder!" Jonathon yelled, and Bellossom quickly obeyed, leaping to the side as Zebstrika came thundering past and spraying the larger Pokemon with a glittery blue powder. Zebstrika started to slow, its eyes drooped, but with a bang and a flash Zebstrika's body lit up with fire and Zebstrika charged Bellossom down."Jonathon, watch out for Flame Charge, it's a Fire-type attack!" Hannah called, but it was too late, Bellossom was twirling back through the air, her body smoking, and Zebstrika was backing away, its target hit. "Char!" Hissed a voice from above. Jonathon looked up and saw something moving in the smoky rafters overhead. A light fell, and he jumped to the side as it hit the ground by his feet, sending an explosion of glass all around him. The screen that was hiding the trainers from the audience suddenly unravelled, falling down and landing with a soft thud in a heap on the stage. "Meleon!" Hissed the voice again, and with a blinding flash a streak of light pierced the roof open, a large piece of the lighting rig fell down and crashed near the back of the stage, overhead the night sky was now peering through a gaping hole in the ceiling. "Hannah, Charmander's evolved into Charmeleon, that was Metal Claw tha ripped open the ceiling," Jonathon cried over to Hannah. "Charmeleon, use your Iron Tail from above!" Hannah ordered, and with a flash of silver Charmeleon leapt from the rafters and sailed down to the stage, striking Zebstrika on the head with a loud Iron Tail attack. The moon shifted over the hole in the roof and cast an errie shadow over Zebstrika as it slowly stood up. "Bellossom, Moonlight!" Jonathon suddenly shouted, and Bellossom's body began to glow with the same eerie soft glow as the moon's shadow over Zebstrika. "Ice Beam!" Slowking's trainer ordered, but Elesa was suddenly walking out of the smoke, her long, blonde hair swaying around her sleek, slender body. "Thunderbolt- now!' She snapped, and Zebstrika obeyed, turning quickly and blasting Slowking with a searing Thunderbolt. Slowking fell to the ground and rolled onto its side. "Razor Leaf!" Jonathon screamed, and Bellossom, lying on the ground in the moonlight, suddenly flung her body into the air and was immediately surrounded by a flurry of razor sharp leaves, in groups they shot away from her and slammed into Zebstrika as Elesa and her Pokemon both slowly turned to face Bellossom on the opposite side of the stage. "Flame Charge," Elesa drawled with a bored expression. "Keep it up, Bellossom!" Jonathon countered, but he knew it wouldn't be enough. Zebstrika's bod caught alight once more and it started to charge across the stage, nondeterred by the hit after hit from Bellossom's Razor Leaf attack, finally with one last explosion of leaves Zebstrika struck Bellossom and sent her skidding into the wings, Jonathon ran and scooped her up into his arms, launching a glare to Elesa on the stage, basking in the spotlight. She was so distracted by the glory that she hadn't seen the flames swirling up behind her, she hadn't seen Charmeleon, its claws blazing with Metal Claw and its fangs glowing with Fire Fang, streaking over the stage like one of Zebstrika's lightning olts, with a piercing crack Charmeleon connected with Zebstrika, first slamming it with the two Metal Claw attacks and then lunging forward to strik with Fire Fang. "Finish it up with Iron Tail!" Hannah cheered, and CHarmeleon somersaulted over Zebstrika before slamming its tail down over Zebstrika's head."Protect!" Elesa shrieked, and a green wall sprung from nowhere between Zebstrika and Charmeleon's Iron Tail, Charmeleon was deflected across the stage, catching the ground with its claw to steady itself as it skid toward Jonathon. "Flamethrower!" Hannah adapted, and Charmeleon opened its mouth, showering Zebstrika in flames, Elesa hid behind Zebstrika, letting her Pokemon block the fires from consuming her."Now we'll end this with Skull Bash!" Hannah called, and Charmeleon ducked its head and ran, still spewing forth the Flamethrower that kept Zebstrika cornered. The flames stopped for a moment, but before Zebstrika could move, Charmeleon slammed into its side hard with a cracking Skull Bash attack. Zebstrika staggered around the stage, moaning and panting."Zebstrika, Wild Charge!" Elesa snapped, but Zebstrika collapsed, sending one final crack through the stage floor. Elesa turned and glared at Hannah, Slowking's trainer knelt beside it, he too was looking at Hannah. From the wings Jonathon could see a TV monitor that showed what the audience could see. The stage was trashed, the scenery was all broken and scattered, the screen was still pooled toward the back of the stage in front of pieces of the ceiling and lighting rig, broken glass and wood littered the stage, and though Slowking had put the fires out, the evidence of ablaze was obvious. One single, solitary spotlight flickered on and slowly moved to bathe Hannah and Charmeleon in light. "After rescuing the Princess from the Evil Witch, the Knight and the Princess are married by the King," The Narrator finished slowly."And they all lived happily ever after."

"Despite having blown the entire Nimbasa City Cultural Affairs Budget on the construction of the new Musical Theater, the head of City Entertainment, Gym Leader Elesa, has today announced that the competitive Pokemon Musical Performances are to be cancelled, and instead the Musical Theater will be turned into- you guessed it, another Fashion Warehouse," The Lady on the TV read from behind the newsdesk. "Well, it was fun while it lasted," Hannah laughed, taking a drink of her milkshake. She and Jonathon had left the Musical Theater and gone to a nearby cafe for dinner."The costumier told me not to beat Elesa, so did that other guy," Jonathon pondered."This must be why- they knew she wouldn't take it too well," Hannah teased. "And we all lost our jobs," A familiar voice spoke up. Jonathon turned around and recognized Danni, his costumier, sitting a few booths away. "Danni!" Jonathon smiled, but she only glared back. "We told you not to beat her. Now she's shutting down the theater and we all lose our jobs," Danni reiterrated. "We're really sorry," Hannah pleaded, but Danni was already getting out of her chair. "At least you enjoyed yourselves, right?" She sniped as she made for the door. "Oh, I feel bad now," Hannah moaned."I know, we have to do something to help them. I didn't realize it would cause so many problems," Jonathon told Hannah, and she agreed. "We should talk to Elesa," Hannah suggested. "We'll have to wait until tomorrow," Jonathon replied, "The Gym will be closed now," And suddenly he remembered- Chilli! As Jonathon finished his milkshake he made a quick plan, tomorrow he would let Hannah talk to Elesa, and while she was distracted he would sneak off and search the Gym for Chilli. He didn't want to jump to any conclusions, but Jonathon had a theory about Elesa, there was something sinister about the beautiful blonde that made him uncomfortable. For now at least, Jonathon's investigation would center around Elesa, and why the missing Chilli's X-Transceiver was being detected inside her Gym.

"The Repairmen are here and they're working real hard, I should have full-operations back up and running by the end of the week," Lenora told Jonathon, "Thankyou so much, hun,""No sweat," Jonathon answered, "I was thinking of switching some of my Pokemon around. Bellossom and Blaziken could both use a rest, I'm going to send you their Pokeballs now, okay?""I've got a lock on both, they’re transferring now," Lenora told him, and on the monitor in the Pokemon Center where Jonathon spoke with Lenora, behind her smiling face suddenly appeared Bellossom and Blaziken, leaping out of their Pokeballs to bid Jonathon farewell."You guys behave yourselves for Lenora, okay?" Jonathon beamed as they waved goodbye."Do you want me to send anything to you?" Lenora asked."Sandile?" Jonathon replied with a grin.

Outside of the Pokemon Center Jonathon was putting his different-coloured Sandile through the paces. He was teaching it to use Dig as an attack, and Sandile had picked up a few other attacks as well- Mud Slap, Sand Attack and Bite."If only I hadn't accidentally given that other Sandile my Dark Glasses," Jonathon thought for a fleeting moment, wondering what could have become of the Sandile wearing his Dark Glasses. Perhaps another Trainer had captured it? Maybe they would train that Sandile until it evolved into a Krokorok, and then a Krookodile, and maybe it would always keep Jonathon's Dark Glasses."Jonathon! Oh I didn't think I'd find you again!" Hannah called, running out of the Pokemon Center."I'm not running off anywhere," Jonathon chuckled, "Besides, aren't we going to the Gym?""Yeah, but first, I wanted to give you this," Hannah said, and she held out a Custom Sky-Blue Pokeball. It opened with a click and a Pokemon began to appear."Jean asked me to raise this Pokemon she caught for you before she died." Hannah said quietly, her voice fading into the whirring and flashing of the Pokeball as it rematerialized the Pokemon it previously held inside. It was larger than Jonathon expected, but he'd only seen these Pokemon in books. He had paintings of them all over his bedroom back at home in Australia, and books about them too. There was something majestic about these Pokemon that appealed to Jonathon. His eyes stung with tears, the Pokemon flapped its giant wings and came to perch on his arm, almost weightless though enormous in comparison to the pet Pidgey Jonathon had as a small child."She knew I always wanted a Noctowl," Jonathon choked.“Now, let's say you and me go and slay some Gym Leader? Double Battle, like the old days?” Hannah suggested, grabbing Jonathon's shoulder affectionately. Jonathon returned Noctowl to its Pokeball and blinked the tears from his eyes.“To the Gym!”

Elesa's Gym was so far the largest building Jonathon had come upon in his Unova travels. It was even far larger than anything he had seen in Castelia City, though perhaps not as tall as some. There were flashing lights on every inch of the large stadium, huge decorative lightning bolts marked the doorways. Just inside the door was a reception counter and as Hannah started filling in the paperwork to register the duo for a battle with Elesa, Jonathon quickly called Lenora on his X-Trasceiver.“Lenora, it's Jonathon, I'm in the Gym, is Chilli still here?” He asked her quietly, holding the transceiver close to his face.“I'm picking up his signal, but it's very weak, there's a lot of interference,” Lenora told him.“Is there a basement under the Gym?” Jonathon speculated.“Not according to the city plans,” Lenora replied, “But Elesa is on the City Council, she could cover a paper trail,”“I'm going to look anyway,” Jonathon decided.“Good idea,” Lenora agreed, “And nice Noctowl, was that a capture? They're not indigenous to Unova,”“I bumped into an old friend,” Jonathon smiled, remembering Hannah, who by now he assumed must almost be finished with their registration.“I'll keep you posted,” Jonathon finished with Lenora, and he tucked the X-Transceiver into his pocket and joined Hannah at the counter.“Okay, so it'll be a two-on-two battle, Elesa will use her electric type Pokemon, you each can use up to three and work in tandem, if you win, you each get a badge. No substitutions, no switches,” The Receptionist summarized for the pair of trainers, “the Gym's battle arena is on level 7, take the center elevator. Good luck!”

Sam stared open-mouthed at her computer screen. She scrolled further down the page and kept reading.“Skitty, this is not looking good,” She told Skitty, her free hand gently stroking Skitty's back. Skitty yawned loudly and opened one lazy eye to look at the screen. Different pictures of a large boat were displayed, but in each image the boat was somewhere different. It was in the ocean, then in the next picture it hung in the air amidst a dark storm-cloud. The same enormous sailing ship was photographed barging through the Desert Sands north of Castelia City, then again high in the air slowly coursing through a thick blizzard.“This must be right near where Jonathon is having trouble with Team Dimension,” Sam wondered out loud, “I wonder if this is them?”“Pup?” Lillpup whined. Sam looked down and saw the Lillipup that Chilli had traded to Jonathon for Torkoal.“Lillipup, Skitty, back in your Pokeballs,” She said suddenly, standing up a little too quickly. Skitty fell, but fortunately dematerialized into her Pokeball before landing in a loud heap on the floor. Sam took Lillipup and Skitty's Pokeballs with her as she hurried down the hall. She stepped into the elevator but just before the doors closed she threw her arm out to stop them.“Loudred!” Sam called down the hallway, seeing one of her oldest Pokemon darting between the many offices down the hall. Loudred stuck his head back into the hallway.“Loudred, we're going on a field trip!” She told him with a wink. Loudred jumped into the air, kicking his feet, he dropped the wastepaper bin he had been emptying and scurried into the elevator with Sam.“We just need to make one more stop,” Sam told Loudred, and as the elevator chimed, the doors slid apart and Sam walked out into the Garden; an entire office level that had been transformed into an indoor garden to house the trainer's Pokemon while they were at Headquarters. Along one wall was a large aquarium and inside was the largest Pokemon in the entire Garden- Sam's giant Seaking. She stopped in front of the glass and smiled into the water. Seaking swam up to the glass and bobbed up and down, his fins swirling and fanning around him.“Do you feel like Surfing, buddy?' Sam asked. The water was suddenly churning, and Seaking was glowing and thrashing with excitement, “Now it'd take me a day to fly there, so you have to promise you can get me there quicker than that,” Sam teased. Seaking made a loud crooning noise, slapping his fins about with glee.“Alright then, let's go!” Sam told him, and as she lifted his Pokeball, Seaking slammed his tail into the wall of the aquarium, shattering the glass, water washed over Sam and Loudred, knocking them both to the floor, Seaking's Pokeball popped open and the enormous fish disappeared inside.“I guess I'll need to get changed first,” Sam told Loudred with a sigh, saturated from head to toe, “But hopefully by this time tomorrow we'll be in Unova with Jonathon!'“LOUD!” Loudred cheered.

“Charmeleon!” Hannah cried, throwing her Pokeball into the arena.“Sandile!” Jonathon added, rolling his Pokeball along the ground. Charmeleon leapt out of the blinding flash and soared through the air, landing with a splintering crunch next to Sandile who scurried across the ground and sent dirt in all directions, even though the arena floor was a glossy black with glowing blue and yellow markings. “Hmph,” Elesa snorted, “Predictable,” She scoffed, but Jonathon rolled his eyes.“Drop the attitude and get on with the match,” He called to her.“I think she’s just biding time to plan a strategy,” Hannah teased.“We’ll see who needs the extra time for strategizing after I wipe the floor with the two of you,” Elesa scathed, hurling two Pokeballs into the air. “Charmeleon, Fire Spin!” Hannah anticipated, and Charmeleon reared his head back before coughing up a swirl of flames that swept wide around the arena. They engulfed one of Elesa’s Pokeballs as it opened and a small electric Pokemon shot up into the sky.“Emolga,” The Pokedex told Jonathon. “Electric and Flying,” he muttered to himself, “Sandile, Rock Tomb!” Jonathon ordered, and Sandile sprayed sand and rocks into the air after the Emolga. The Flames spun through the air behind the little Pokemon, making it easy to target. Sandile’s attack struck Emolga high in the air and the flying rodent fell to the ground with a squeak.“Volt Switch!” Elesa ordered, “And Wild Charge!”“Zebstrika!” Hannah gasped, grabbing Jonathon’s shoulder. He turned quickly and saw the larger Pokemon, a terrifying, bulky creature with two large horns and a sleek coat. It blazed with electricity as it suddenly started to charge toward Charmeleon. “Sandile, Mud Slap!” Jonathon commanded while Emolga flew toward Charmeleon like a thundering comet.“Charmeleon, get out of the way with Dig!” Hannah cried. Sandile’s attack soared over Charmeleon’s head as the fire-type sunk into the ground, its claws and feet tearing the arena floor apart. “You’re gonna pay for that!” Elesa spat as Sandile’s Mud Slap showered Zebstrika in dirt.“Hardly,” Jonathon scoffed.“No, I meant your friend for digging a hole in my arena floor- you’ll pay for the repairs!” Elesa shrieked, growing more furious by the minute. Jonathon tried not to laugh just as Zebstrika bashed into Sandile and sent the Pokemon skidding away. Sandile shrugged off the attack and sprayed Zebstrika with another Mud Slap. Zebstrika snorted its disapproval. “What happened to Emolga?” Hannah wondered. Elesa was holding up a Pokeball. “Volt Switch,” She explained with a smirk.“What about ‘No switches, no substitutions,’ hey?” Jonathon teased.“Volt Switch isn’t a switch or substitution, it’s an attack that recalls the Pokemon to its Pokeball,” Elesa stated with a pompous air.“Whatever, quit stalling and bring out your next Pokemon,” Hannah drawled. “Galvantula, let’s go!” Elesa cried.“Charmeleon- NOW!” Hannah bellowed, and from beneath Zebstrika Charmeleon burst forth, pieces of the battle arena and chunks of concrete, rock and dirt crashed into Zebstrika from below, sending the bigger Pokemon up into the air then crashing down into a heap on the pile of debris.“Zebstrika, thunderbolt!” Elesa countered.“Your Pokémon needs a rest!” Jonathon chastised.“I’ll say when my Pokémon needs a rest,” Elesa shot back. From the floor Zebstrika sent a feeble Thunderbolt over the arena and struck Charmeleon, pinning him in place. “Sandile, use a Sand Attack to stop that Thunderbolt!” Jonathon retaliated, and Sandile sprayed Charmeleon and Zebstrika with sand, blocking the effects of the electrical attack. “Galvantula, Discharge!” Elesa threw in spitefully.“Charmeleon, Flamethrower!”The two attacks collided for a moment, and then became a swirling vortex of electricity and fire. Jonathon had an idea.“Hannah, use Dig, NOW!” He whispered.“Charmeleon, underground!” She obeyed quickly.“Sandile, Sandstorm!” Jonathon clapped, and Sandile, its green skin glinting in the arena’s bright lights, let loose with a mighty roar that filled the entire stadium not just with a piercing sound, but also a piercing sandstorm. The flames and electricity swirled through the twister of sand, creating an attack of triplicate power. “Galvantula, Signal Beam!” Elesa ordered.“Sandile, harness that tornado and send it into Galvantula!” Jonathon attempted, but Galvantula was too quick, the Signal beam connected with Sandile and sent him rolling across the floor.“Zebstrika, Stomp it!” She snapped next, and Zebstrika, though still weak, thundered shakily over the arena and poised in the air over Sandile.“Dig!” Jonathon cried, and though Sandile didn’t get entirely underground, the half-hole he dug was enough to send both he and Zebstrika into the floor, this time taking Zebstrika out of the battle completely. The triple-twister Sandstorm swirled past Galvantula, toward the far wall until suddenly the ground beneath it splintered apart and Charmeleon burst upward.“Flamethrower!” Hannah adjusted, and from within the swirling sand, fire and lightning came a billowing cascade of fires, the twister absorbed itself into the attack, sand and electricity spiraling with the flames and slamming Galvantula into the opposite wall. Both of Elesa’s Pokemon were down and out. “You still have Emolga,” Hannah told Elesa.“I still have plenty!” She shot back, hurling two more Pokeballs into the air. “Eelektross, Dragon Claw that Charmeleon!” Elesa cried. Emolga darted into the air, trying to sneak away from sight, but Jonathon’s keen eye saw it, and he pointed to it high over the battlefield.“Sandile, aim for Emolga with your Rock Tomb!” He commanded.“Charmeleon, Metal Claw!” Hannah countered, and Eelektross and Charmeleon met in midair, Eelektross’ glowing fist clanged against Charmeleon’s silver claws, and in a flash Hannah adapted.“Flamethrower!” She shouted, and before the two Pokemon had even separated a blazing stream of fire engulfed Eelektross.“Discharge!” Elesa screamed, and from within the flames came a blast of electricity that consumed Charmeleon. The fire and lightning exploded, and a blinding white light filled the arena. Jonathon and Hannah lifted their arms to shield their eyes.“Dragon Claw!” Elesa duplicated, and Eelektross swirled the smoke away, it’s blazing fist streaking the smoke this way and that, only to be caught in a blocking maneuver by Hannah’s Charizard. “Whoa, WOW!” Hannah cheered.“Discharge, now!” Elesa continued, “Both of you!” “Sandile, block it with Sand Tomb!” Jonathon defended, and Sandile covered Emolga in Sand, then aimed for Eelektross, but Charizard got there first. He grabbed Eelektross and let the electrical attack surge through his body. A snarl crept over Charizard’s face.“Fire Blast!” Hannah caught on, but the attack was already raging forth, Eelektross’ body went up into the air, though Charizard held its head firmly in place, its face being smothered in fires. As the inferno settled Eelektross went limp. Emolga suddenly swooped down and slammed its little body into Charizard, who turned and slashed the rodent with a glowing fist.“Rock Tomb!” Jonathon ordered, and with a slamming of rocks and the screech of rodent the Emolga fell to the floor beside Eelektross. “Charizard,” Elesa said quietly, returning Emolga and Eelektross to their Pokeballs, ”hey boy,” She called to Jonathon, your part in this match is over, head down to the lobby,” “What?!” Jonathon coughed. Elesa threw a sparkling badge to him. “But you,” She continued to Hannah, “You and that Charizard are staying,” She jeered.“Bring it on!” Hannah snarled, and with that Charizard roared like the beast he was, “You won’t take us down, not now,” Hannah beamed.“We’ll see,” Elesa smiled quietly, throwing what appeared to be her last Pokeball into the battle. “Ampharos,” Jonathon told Hannah, "I’ve battled them before, it’s the final stage evolution of Mareep,”“Well at least we don’t have to worry about it evolving in the battle,” Hannah joked.“Guess again,” Elesa laughed, lifting her arm into the air. Her wrist shone bright, and in another second Ampharos began to shine until it was engulfed in a shining sphere of light. The light cracked and from within came a brighter, piercing light, and an odd shrieking sound. “Jonathon, what’s happening, is this legal?” Hannah asked.“I have no idea,” Jonathon admitted quietly. “If you have your badge, sir, you need to leave with me now,” A girl said, appearing behind Jonathon from the elevators further down the wall. “Don’t go!” Hannah begged, but the girl was already steering Jonathon toward the elevator, Sandile at his feet.“Your friend will meet you in the lobby after the battle,” She told him, and just like that Jonathon was being pushed out of the elevator and into the lobby. This was his chance.

As the elevator doors closed and the girl left him alone in the lobby, Jonathon knelt down quickly and whispered to Sandile."Okay buddy, we need to get down to the basement but I don't know if we should use the lift... any ideas?" He pondered. Sandile tilted his head to the side for a moment and then his smile widened. The little Pokemon waddled over to the furthest corner of the lobby, between two vending machines. Sandile scratched at the ground for a few moments and then, with a great cry, Sandile tore the floor apart, bits of carpet and wooden floorboard flying in all directions. Concrete and rock followed next, then a few pipes and cables, Sandile sank further and further into the ground and then he was gone, leaving a gaping hole in his wake. "Excellent!" Jonathon cheered. He grabbed an armchair from the other side of the lobby and dragged it over to the corner, concealing the hole in the floor underneath it and then he followed Sandile down into the basement.

Jonathon hung for a moment before dropping to the hard ground with a splash. The water was ankle deep in the basement, more like a sewer than an underground storeroom. Sandile was waiting for him, looking displeased as ever by the water."Sorry buddy," Jonathon said, holding up Sandile's Pokeball and returning him inside. He tossed Joltik's Pokeball out instead and Joltik scurried up the wall."Think you can light this place up?" He asked Joltik, and she obliged with a blinding flash of electricity. Jonathon ran along the winding corridor that was the Nimbasa City Gym's Basement level. It appeared to stretch for miles in one direction. Just as he was giving up hope he saw a light up ahead. He and Joltik sped up, Jonathon's heart pounding in his chest. The light was filtering down from a hole in the ceiling. Above Jonathon could see the lobby. It was Sandile's hole. This didn't make sense. Joltik giggled in a high pitch cackle."Quiet Joltik, I need to concentrate," He told Joltik gently. Joltik made a different noise, and suddenly Jonathon realized the giggling could not have been Joltik at all. "Discharge, GO!" Jonathon ordered, grabbing onto a pole jutting out of the wall and lifting his feet out of the water. Hanging from the wall Jonathon watched the water come to life as the electricity surged through it. His head suddenly felt very foggy. In the water he had been standing were dozens of strange looking Pokemon, swirling this way and that, like great veiled jellyfish. "Joltik, blast the... water," Jonathon panted, having trouble catching his breath. His body didn't feel right. It was as though he had been drained of all his energy. The ghostly swirls in the water giggled as they were struck with electricity. Jonathon's arms were throbbing. He let go of the pole and let his cursed body fall into the water, his knees buckling. He was crouched down in the water, the swirling water-ghosts surrounding him. "What... are they?" He gasped, squinting into the water. Suddenly Joltik was there, screeching as it ran circles around him in the water. Thunderbolts flew in all directions, and then as Joltik ran another lap around Jonathon's oddly frail body she leapt into the air and struck the Pokedex in Jonathon's jacket pocket. He lifted a heavy hand and took the device, holding it over the water."Frillish, the Ghost and Water type Pokemon, coming into contact with these Pokemon can drain the energy from another life form, researchers call this the Cursed Body effect,"

Sam had a special briefcase that Lukas had sent her. It was special in that she could store Jonathon's Pokemon inside on her way across the sea to Unova and yet still carry her own Pokemon with her for protection. In essence she would be carrying well over six Pokemon, the international legal limit, but as long as the Pokemon were set inside the briefcase they didn't count towards the legal limit. The garden seemed ominously empty with all of Sam's and Jonathon's Pokemon inside their Pokeballs. Sam had set up a small table and placed the briefcase upon it. She studied the list she had made of what Pokemon jonathon currently had in Unova while she tried to decide what Pokemon to take to him. Jean's Gardevoir watched silently from the tree in the center of the Garden as Sam placed Flygon's Pokeball in the briefcase first followed by Ninjask second, the best flier and the best battler."Are these going to my brother?" A voice asked. Sam flicked her hair over her shoulder and gazed behind her to see Jonathon's older brother Matt walking across the garden toward her. "They sure are, any suggestions?" She told him. "Scyther," Matt winked, "But first," And Matt took a tin of silver polish from his pocket and used a handkerchief to shine the Pokeball. In the briefcase it appeared to glow brighter than the others."Snorunt will be handy too, I don't think he took any ice types with him," Matt said."He only took Wartortle and Grotle," Sam sighed. "He'll catch more while he's there," Matt reminded her. "I've been able to transfer some to him, but Unova is under attack, almost the entire region is in a network blackout, that's why I'm taking these to him personally. The last transfer went wrong, he ended up with the wrong Pokemon," Sam explained. "Is this the bio?" Matt said, sliding a piece of paper out from underneath the briefcase."Yeah, I was trying to choose wisely. I can only take six in the briefcase," Sam replied."Well he's missing a Poison type and Ice type over there, so take Muk and... Snorunt," Matt suggested. "That leaves a space for one more," Sam pondered. A Pokemon descended from the tree in the center of the Garden and, with a nod from Gardevoir, it bobbed over to Sam."Shuppet," Jean's Shuppet declared. Matt and Sam turned as one to eye Shuppet who floated in the air defiantly. Gardevoir stared them down from across the Garden. The leaves on the tree rustled and Sceptile's eyes peered out. Gardevoir nodded once very slowly."I think they want you to take Shuppet," Matt said quietly to Sam."But it was Jean's Pokemon, will it even listen to Jonathon?" Sam worried."They were best friends. Of course her Pokemon will listen to him. Mine listen to him, and soem days we're not friends," Matt chuckled."Shuppet, you're number six," Sam announced.

Jonathon climbed wearily to his feet and staggered through the waters, Joltik kept leaping around him, blasting electricity at the Frillish as they swirled underfoot. "Joltik, we've gotta get out of here," Jonathon moaned. He looked above him for Sandile's hole but he couldn't see it anymore. There were lights popping all over the place, he was too confused to find his way in the semi-darkness. "There must be... a leader," Jonathon slowly realized. He couldn't make out anything in the water though, even with Joltik's Thunderbolts striking the Frillish they remained barely visible. "This was a trap," He sighed, tears stinging his eyes. Someone had lured him down here with the hopes of finding Chilli only for the Frillish to destroy him. He tripped on something in the water and crashed to the ground, the ghostly wetness washing over him. He landed hard on a Pokeball on his belt and it exploded apart, releasing Ralts into the watery sewer. His body sparkled briefly and then he began to glow."Confusion," Jonathon croaked. Ralts floated into the air and suddenly the entire cavern was lit with a brilliant blue light. Another one of his Pokeballs opened and Wartortle was helping him climb to his feet. The Frillish were backing away, afraid of the blue light. Joltik discharged a wave of electricity that forced them further back, the water rippled and splashed as the ghosts retreated. Jonathon still couldn't see straight, the narrow tunnel wound this way and that ahead of him, though to Wartortle it was a straight path to the exit, and he led Jonathon there, holding his side up with one had and clutching his palm tight in the other."Jellicent!" Came a loud bellow. Lights flashed all over, Joltik's Thunderbolt soared past Jonathon's head, Ralts' confusion beamed through the cavern. "Galvantula!" Cried the voice at Jonathon's feet, and the bright shining light that came forth seemed to dull Jonathon's senses. "Wartortle!" His starter Pokemon roared, and the purple shimmering orbs of Wartortle's Dark Hidden Power came into being, flying into the Jellicent with Galvantula's Thunderbolt, the leader of the ghosts went whirling away through the tunnel, and finally overhead he could see the hole that led back to the lobby. Galvantula scuttle up the wall and through the hole, a strong silken string descended and Wartortle wrapped it around Jonathon. Ralts and Wartortle followed him up through the hole and the three collapsed onto the floor of the lobby a moment later, Galvantula waiting for them on the wall.

Hannah's Charizard looked different, its wings were more pointed, its fangs sharper, its body sleeker, the light that emanated from its body burned her eyes but she dared not look away. Ampharos, now sporting a long mane of white cloud-like hair was blasting Thunderbolts into the sky as Charizard flew around and around in circles. No, not Charizard, Mega Charizard. "Now this is a battle!" Elesa cheered."I don't understand," Hannah cried, "What's happening?""This is Pokemon at their best!" Elesa laughed, "Mega Ampharos, finish this!" "AmphaROS!" Mega Ampharos shrieked, and a great Outrage attack rocked across the arena, knocking Mega Charizard out of the sky and Hannah to the ground. "Excellent work, my dear, you've certainly made good use of those stones," Jackson smiled, his body appearing out of the shadows. He walked forward, Gengar at his side, "This is most pleasing, our collection is now almost complete,""We only need a few more before we will have the power to restore what is right," Nick agreed, now walking at Jackson's side."This power, I never knew- I never dreamed!" Elesa cackled, "I'll be the strongest Gym Leader in all of Unova,""Not forever," Jackson muttered quietly."Aren't we finished with her now?" Nick asked him with a scowl."Indeed, Gengar, if you will," Jackson said softly. With a snap of his fingers Gengar was walking toward Elesa, its arms raised at her. Elesa dropped to her knees, then face first into the floor. "Mega Ampharos and Mega Charizard will join the others, see to it they are delivered safely," Jackson told Nick as Gengar floated Charizard and Ampharos' Pokeballs away from their owners. The two Pokemon returned to their Pokeballs. Nick took the Pokeballs out of the air and pocketed both. "What about the others? We still need more," He asked Jackson."Patience... Your little friend is about to bring us the remainders. My trap in the basement should have left him incapacitated by now. Once we add his to the collection, and use him to obtain the others we need, our goal will be complete," "I'll check the trap," Nick smiled."No. I will check the trap. You take those Pokeballs and our prisoners here to the airship," Jackson ordered, and a scowling Nicholas returned to the shadows where, with the flash of his newly acquired Cofagrigus, he disappeared.

Jonathon was still feeling groggy but he ventured down the main street of Nimbasa City with Wartortle at his side and Ralts on his shoulder. Suddenly there came a great roar in the sky, an explosion followed, and then out of nowhere the streets were filled with screaming. Jonathon turned, the city spinning around him. He looked back to the Gym and as though a veil of sky was being lifted from it, the airship appeared, resting atop the building. The Gym was exploding, glass rained down upon the street below."Hannah!" Jonathon suddenly remembered. "In here!" Came a gruff below, and before Jonathon could argue he was sinking, disappearing into the ground below.

Sam and Seaking passed several islands on their journey, each one more tropical then the last. Before long they could see a great city in the distance, with skyscrapers as high as the clouds. A long bridge connected it to one section of the mainland while a ferry traversed the stretch of water to the other. A beautiful, shimmering Pink fish leapt out of the water and waved its fin at her before sinking back into the cool ocean. The docks were closer now, and she could see several ships, though none matched the odd ship she had seen in her satellite images. Before she could climb onto the docks she saw the smoke billowing out of a destroyed building. The Communications Tower for Castelia City had been destroyed. Sam gazed up at the damage as she climbed a small ladder onto one of the piers. "Seaking, return," She called behind her, and Seaking retreated into the Pokeball in her hand. "Welcome to Castelia City, you must have come a long way," A stylishly dressed man said."I love your pants, where did you get them?" Sam asked, snapped from her worries by the savvy man before her."There's this adorable little boutique just down the road, here I'll show you!" He rattled."I'm Sam, by the way," Sam beamed as the man led her away from the pier and toward a main shopping district."I'm Burgh," Burgh told her, "The Gym Leader here in Castelia,""Oh maybe you've met my friend, Jonathon," She asked."Oh..." Burgh stopped, "Jonathon... yes, yes I met him. I gave him our Badge. He was a good battler, very fierce," "I'm sure he would have thought you were pretty great yourself," Sam added."Actually no... No he didn't like me at all," Burgh confessed with a frown.

"Your X-Transceiver has been hacked, toss that thing into the dirt right now," Clay demanded."How? What's going on?" Jonathon replied indignantly."Don't know how. Doesn't matter anyway. That Team Dimension mob you're chasing are worse than we first though," Clay grumbled, leading Jonathon down a long, narrow tunnel. His Krookodile was at the front, tossing dirt and rocks aside as they burrowed their way under Nimbasa City. "Where are we going?" Jonathon asked, but Clay shook his head."Doesn't matter, there's not enough time, listen- Team Dimension have been collecting certain Pokemon. Certain powerful Pokemon. They used to just steal rare ones and strong ones, then they went after the Legendary Pokemon, now they're chasing... well they're chasing the strongest Pokemon around," Clay drilled on. "I don't understand," Jonathon said."You will soon," Clay promised as they started to climb upward."How did you find all this out?" Jonathon wondered."Because we caught one of em," Clay grunted as he pulled himself up out of the tunnel, "Or rather, one of em caught us," Clay added, reaching a hand down to pull Jonathon out of the tunnel. In the distance was Nimbasa City, smoke billowing from the city's center. And even though his back was turned Jonathon knew the other teenager standing on the grassy field outside of the city limits. "You!" He snarled, lunging forward. Clay grabbed the back of Jonathon's shirt and reefed him backward, tripping Jonathon into the ground. Tyler, with his shocking blonde hair and dimply smile turned around, a curious expression on his dashingly handsome face. "Jonathon, listen, please," He said calmly, "I'm not with Dimension anymore, I'm on your side,""You hunted me like a Rattata!" Jonathon growled."I know, and I apologize, you were... extremely fun to chase," Tyler said politely, "Really, I'm sorry, but it was an exciting rivalry while it lasted, wasn't it?""You tried to kill me! Twice!" Jonathon yelled, trying to break free of Clay's grasp. The Gym Leader now had both arms around Jonathon's torso so all Jonathon could do was flail his legs about as he tried to get at Tyler, to tear him limb from limb. "Three times actually," Tyler corrected him with a grin. "Tyler's told us everything we need to know, and now if we're gonna stop em you'll need his help," Clay barked. Jonathon calmed down for a moment. "They're hunting the world's strongest Pokemon. And they already have most of them. They're counting on you to bring them the rest," Tyler explained. "What Pokemon?" Jonathon demanded to know."We don't know exactly," Clay answered pointedly, "If I let you go are ya gonna calm down?""Let me go," Jonathon replied simply. Clay released his grip, but kept his arms raised as though he doubted Jonathon's mood. Jonathon snorted."Listen, you and Tyler need to head for Iccirus City, Brycen will be able to get you onto that airship without being detected," Clay explained."And then we can take down the airship, and defeat Jackson and Nick," Tyler added on. "Do you have a flying type?" Clay pressed, "Because we're running out of time," "Why? Holy Cher!" Jonathon gasped. Rising out of the smoke over Nimbasa City was the airship, the shining cloud of Klink swirling around it like the rings of Saturn."Skarmory," Tyler called, and his Pokemon appeared from the Pokeball on his belt, its wings and beak clanging like hard iron. "Noctowl, come on out," Jonathon said reluctantly. He didn't care that Clay was vouching for Tyler, none of this made sense. He refused to believe that Tyler was now on their side. It was a trap, but Jonathon had no other option. Clay and Tyler would be too strong together if it came to a battle. Jonathon would have to play along until he got Tyler alone. And he would be ready to defend himself. Then he would rescue Chilli. The airship turned in the sky and pointed toward the mountains. "We have to hurry, they're heading to Iccirus too," Tyler told Jonathon. "Noctowl, I know we haven't really met, but I need you to- whoa!" Jonathon stumbled as Noctowl swooped toward him, collecting him on his back and soaring skyward. Without any movement on his part Jonathon found himself nestled perfectly on Noctowl's back, his legs tucked under the wings and his arms resting on Noctowl's neck. Noctowl was made for flight, it lifted high into the air with a few beats of those mighty wings and it took Tyler and Skarmory a short while to reach them just below the clouds. The airship was in the distance, slowly pushing its way above the clouds."We need to stay beneath the clouds or they'll see us!" Tyler called over the gushing winds, "This way!" And Tyler surged ahead, slowly descending before each of Skarmory's wing beats. Noctowl kept a steady altitude, barely flapping its large wings. "So what made you change sides?" Jonathon asked Tyler as they drew near one another briefly. Tyler pulled Skarmory to the side and they cut across the front of Jonathon and dropped back beside him. "Things got... crazy. The leader revealed the master plan," Tyler stuttered. His demeanor had changed now, he was suddenly not so talkative. "Whats the plan?" Jonathon pressed."Head straight for Iccirus and find Brycen," Tyler replied quickly."No, I mean Team Dimension. What's their Master Plan?" Jonathon reiterated. "It's complicated. Too complicated to explain now. Just trust me," Tyler shouted back."I don't!" Jonathon yelled, and he pulled Noctowl to a halt in the air. Tyler circled back until he was bobbing up and down on Skarmory in front of them. "You have to trust me, we need to work together to bring them down. We can't let them do what they're trying to do," Tyler begged. "And what is that?" Jonathon argued."I can't tell you," Tyler said through gritted teeth. "That's it, I'm out," Jonathon snapped, and he turned Noctowl around and made to fly away."Skarmory!" Tyler cried, and a Swift attack was circling Jonathon in a flash. Noctowl darted left and right but the pointed stars followed them through the empty sky. Jonathon instinctively aimed Noctowl up into the clouds, the stars couldn't follow them blindly, and as Jonathon pulled out over the clouds they were alone. Alone except for the giant airship just a few yards away from them. A great siren whined all around the sky, and dozens of shapes began to swirl around the airship. A piercing Thunderbolt came streaking toward Jonathon, before he could react the clouds swirled up around him, Tyler and Skarmory leapt between them just in time to intercept the attack. Both Tyler and his Pokemon looked at Jonathon in immense pain as their bodies exploded with electricity."Go to iccirus... find Brycen... get onboard without being detected," Tyler croaked."What about you?" Jonathon said quickly, suddenly sympathetic for his old rival."I'll hold them off," Tyler winked, his body twitching as the lightning retracted. Without another word Noctowl dove into the clouds, Jonathon leaned down low as they shot like a bullet through the sky, a blue glow encompassed them and before long they were free from the clouds, the only remnants of the battle with the airship the piercing shriek and cackle echoing in the sunset all around them.

Sam enjoyed a few short hours shopping with Burgh, then bid him farewell as she continued on her quest to find Jonathon. She leaned against a brick wall in a seedy alleyway and checked her new X-Transceiver for the location of Jonathon's X-Transceiver. Listlessly, she released Skitty from her Pokeball. "Skitty!" The little Pokemon purred. "According to this he's sitting halfway between Nimbasa City and Driftveil City... We'll need to go up through the Desert and then head West,""You can take the sewers," An oily voice told her. Sam jumped and Skitty leapt up onto her shoulder in fright."Sorry, didn't mean to startle ya," A girl's voice said as a figure emerged from the shadows, "I'm Roxie,""My name's Sam," Sam told her warily. "That's a funny accent, you're not from around here are ya?" Roxie pondered."No, I'm from Australia," Sam replied."Ah, I'm looking for a Trainer from Australia, he has one of my Badges," Roxie perked up."Badges? You're a Gym Leader?" Sam grew friendlier."Yes indeed," Roxie beamed, "And I'd be happy to guide you through the Sewers and then the Relic Passage to Driftveil City, that's where I was just headed," "I dunno, the Sewers don't sound too enticing," Sam confessed. Skitty made a face. "It's only a short trek through the sewers, then the Relic Passage os very peaceful. And it'll shave a couple of days off your journey," Roxie explained. Sam lifted Skitty's Pokeball and returned Skitty to it. "Let's go," She smiled.

As they stepped into the sewers Roxie released a Koffing that burped a stale smell."Sorry, he's a bit smelly but he knows his way through here like a pro," Roxie winked. "No problem," Sam chuckled, remembering Jean's Weezing that smelled like Roses. "It's this way," Roxie pointed and with Koffing in front the two girls trudged along the narrow walkway. As it got dark Sam droppd Loudred's Pokeball behind her."lash, if you can," She told him. Loudred gave a loud rumble and a bright light shone from his mouth. "Watch out!" Roxie cried, dropping to the ground. A swarm of Woobat screeched overhead, spooked by the light. "Oh, they're adorable, what are they?" Sam cooed."Woobat, they're alright I guess, they live in dark places," Roxie told her. Sam alreadyhad a Pokeball in her hand. She waited and then as the swarm flew overhead she tossed her Pokeball hard at the smallest one in the group. It disappeared inside and the ball fell to the concrete floor with a loud clattering. The other Woobat were gone quickly, but the Pokeball suddenly split open and the smallest Woobat fluttered around the girl's heads. "Loudred, Sonicboom!" Sam ordered, and Loudred closed and reopened his mouth, sending a pulsating wave of sound into Woobat."Stomp!" Sam commanded, and Loudred leapt skyward, his stomp more of a kick than anything, but regardless Woobat fell to the ground and Sam dropped the Pokeball onto it quickly. Once again Woobat disappeared inside, and this time it remained. "Nice one," Roxie complimented, "See that door at the far end over there? That's the entrance to the Relix Passage. But we gotta go all the way around the long way to cross this sludge," "I have a better idea," Sam winked, throwing a Pokeball into the air. Seaking was not impressed by the slimy mess he was suddenly sitting in, but he was big enough that Sam and Roxie could walk across his back to the other side easily."Sorry, dude," Sam apologized as she returned a very angry Giant fish to his Pokeball. "Just through here now," Roxie advised, and within minutes Sam and Roxie were entering the Relic Passage.

Jonathon watched the sun descend from above the clouds. As he dropped lower in the sky it would set, and darkness would consume Iccirus City before he arrived. He dismounted Noctowl just outside the city limits and scratched his neck before returning his newest Pokemon to his Pokeball. He silently crept closer to the city, only to dscover a great wall of Ice circled the outer limits. He placed his hand against the cold, hard surface and suddenly wished he had his Blaziken with him. "Who goes there!" A voice barked."I'm Jonathon, I'm here to see Brycen,""Leave this place!" The man snapped back."I won't!" Jonathon shouted, "I've come to see Brycen, it's urgent!""You've come with that airship to take over the city," The man continued, "I don't know your face. You're a stranger. And that accent tells me you're a stranger from far away," "I'm one of the Cheif of Police from Australia, I've been hunting that airship for weeks," Jonathon confessed. "If you are who you say you are, you can prove it in battle," The true stranger ordered as he stepped through the ice like it was a slow falling waterfall. "A battle is something I can understand," Jonathon smirked, "bring out your best!""Dewgong, defend our fair city!" The man bellowed, throwing an ice blue Pokeball at Jonathon. Jonathon darted to the side and threw his own Pokeball."Galvantula, Thunderbolt!" He ordered, wasting no time. Dewgong appeared with a splash of cold water and snow, but Galvantula exploded from her Pokeball with a bolt of lightning already surging from her body. Before Dewgong could recover formt he attack Galvantula latched on, wrapping its legs around Dewgong's body."Now, Discharge!" Jonathon followed, seizing every opportunity."Body Slam!""Jump off and use Signal Beam!" Jonathon countered. As Dewgong slammed itself into the ground Galvantula soared high in the air and then blasted a colorful beam down into the ice and water type Pokemon. The man returned the Pokemon to its Pokeball. "Beartic, Icicle Crash!" "Galvantula, defend yourself with Sticky Web," Jonathon cried, and Galvantula sprayed her web into the air as dozens of sharp icicles came crashign down around her. She yelped as a few made it through the web and shattered on her body."Bite it, Beartic! Ice Fang!" "Thunderbolt!" Jonathon shouted, pointing dramatically with a spin, he was really enjoying the battle, for a moment he forgot why he had come to Iccirus City at all. The Beartic pushed through the Thunderbolt and bit Galvantula with a roar."Discharge!" Jonathon called, and both Pokemon exploded with a dazzling yellow light."Return!" "Is that all you've got?" Jonathon teased. "Not by a long shot," The man smiled, wiping swea from his brow, a smile on his older face. He raised a Pokeball, but before he could toss it a great chunk of ice fell to the ground between the pair. The ice wall began to collapse behind them, huge cracks shooting downward and long spears of ice tottering away. High overhead the giant airship was piercing through the great high wall. "You are not with them" The man panted, stowing his Pokeball back in his robe. "I've been trying to tell you," Jonathon grumbled, returning Galvantula to her Pokeball. "Here," And the man pulled Jonathon close to him and reached inside his jacket, "You will need this," "What?" Jonathon stammered, taken aback by the old man reaching into this clothes. "Come with me," He shot quickly, and the old man darted away through the falling ice with a dexterity not befitting such an aged fellow. Jonathon followed him quickly, pausing for a moment just to check inside his jacket. Pinned beside the Gym Badge from Elesa was the Iccirus City Gym Badge. He had found Brycen.

Sam and Roxie emerged from the Relic Passage at a busy, bustlin metropolis."Is this Driftveil?" Sam asked Roxie, impressed."No," Roxie sighed, "I forgot they'd built this,""What is it?" Sam wondered."Just some big Tournament thing, it's not important," Roxie sang, "This way," And she pointed them through the Northern Gate. A short walk ahead was Driftveil City, with a large, gruff man standing outside the gate, gazing up at the sky."Clay!" Roxie called to him."G'day Roxie," He moaned, "These aren't good times, are they?""What's wrong?" Roxie asked."You don't hear much on that little island hideaway, do you?" Clay scolded, "Team Dimension have almost put the whole Region in radio blackout, they're destroying all the major radio towers, pretty soon no one will be able to transport Pokemon, make phone calls, even watch TV,""Team Dimension!" Sam shrieked."Friends of yours?" Clay asked skeptically."No, I'm here to stop them! So is my associate, Jonathon Psyches,""Jonathon! I've met him!" Clay barked, a frantic look on his face, "I just sent him to Iccirus to help defend against the tower there,""Iccirus, where's that?" Sam asked quickly."I'll show you a shortcut, I call it Clay's Tunnel," He winked. As they hurried through the city, Clay filled Sam in on what had happened in her absence. "Tyler, he came to me, he was once with Dimension. Not now though, he's turned onto our side. Wants to stop 'em. I sent him and Jonathon over to Iccirus City. Tyler told me their Master Plan. It's crazy I tell ya," Clay explained. "What is it?" Sam asked shakily."You're not gonna believe this," Clay began.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum